


Masquerade

by MidnightRain19



Category: Soul Eater
Genre: Drama & Romance, Eventual Romance, F/M, Secret Identity, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-06
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:42:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 28
Words: 96,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27425143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidnightRain19/pseuds/MidnightRain19
Summary: In order to better understand music, Maka begins to get secret tutoring lessons from some unexpected help, but as Maka begins to better understand music and gain popularity with a new alter ego, it begins to get harder to keep up with her double life; especially when a new threat is arising and Soul gets suspicious...
Relationships: Maka Albarn/Soul Eater Evans
Comments: 1
Kudos: 21





	1. Music Is My Weakness

Chapter 1: Music is my Weakness

"Why did I bother to stay here again?" Maka thought to herself as she listened to the ongoing conversation happening between Soul and Liz over the one subject she could never master: music.

The day had started out normally enough with Soul and Maka out running simple errands (with Soul having to be dragged out by Maka) when they had ran into the twin pistol and somehow one way or another, the subject of jazz music and the newest bands had been brought up.

Maka couldn't help but sigh faintly her breathe as she watched Soul and Liz fervently discuss musicians and different genres. "I swear it's like their speaking another language sometimes." she thought trying to mask her frustration as best she could.

Not that Maka would ever admit it out loud, but she longed to be able to somehow find the same appreciation and understanding of music that Liz and even many of Soul's fan-girls could easily gain with Soul that she could not. 'There's no reason for me to be jealous though, but I really thought I had gotten past all this after dealing with the book of Eibon, but I guess I'm just fooling myself. Maka was so wrapped up in her thoughts she didn't even notice the sudden question Liz had sent her way.

"Hey Maka, are you even listening?" Liz asked looking at Maka with slight concern.

"Huh?" "Oh yeah sorry I just have a lot on my mind right now." Maka answered, trying not to let both Soul's and Liz's staring bother her as she looked down at her drink uncomfortably.

Soul snickered at Maka's spaced out expression, showing off his sharp toothed grin before tauntingly adding in "Of course she wasn't paying attention Liz you know Maka knows next to nothing about music!"

Maka immediately lifted her head to throw a glare at Soul, the nagging desire to hit him returning, even if what he said was true.

"Okay that's it I need to find some way to get away from this situation." Maka thought angrily to herself, trying to calm herself down. Right now Maka's main priorities were escaping from this conversation and from the bitterness at being reminded of her shortcomings. Suddenly, an idea popped into her head for the perfect excuse she could use to get away.

"Ah sorry Liz, I just remembered I still need to do the grocery shopping since it is my turn to cook tonight."

Liz frowned, she and Soul must have spent so much time talking about music that they must have inadvertently made Maka feel like the third wheel in their conversation this whole time.

"Well okay, I guess I'll see you at school then." Liz stated with a slight shrug of her shoulders, knowing that any tries to get Maka to stay would probably end up futile.

Soul on the other hand didn't seem so quick at letting her go.

"Come on Maka, you don't need to get the groceries yet. You know I was only joking." Soul scoffed. 'Maybe I took my joking too far this time though.' He thought, cringing inwardly.

"No, No it's getting late and the store's going to close soon. I'll just get the last items on the list and meet you back at home." Maka explained in a rush and before Soul could make a retort back, Maka headed off in the opposite direction away from the two of them.

~X~

'It's not like I was having any impact on their conversation anyways. Why would he want me to stay there?' Maka mused with a huff, double checking to make sure she had all the items she needed before heading for home.

The sun was already beginning to set, fading gleams of orange passing against the nearby buildings as Maka began to clutch the paper bags to her chest.

"Well today could have gone a whole lot better." Maka grumbled to herself.

The last thing Maka wanted to do now was head straight back to the apartment and have to deal with Soul probably telling her how "uncool" she acted today, but the way things were looking now that seemed inevitable.

As Maka walked along the usual path that she took home a sudden sparkle caught her eye. Turning towards the shimmer, she noticed in bright red sign with glittering letters that read: GRAND OPENING!

'Hmm a new store opened up here. I wonder what they sell; maybe it's a new bookstore!' Maka pondered to herself, feeling a bit happier at the thought of a new place to buy books. Taking a quick glance at her watch it read around 7:30 pm.

"I should have enough time to just do a quick glance around and then just head home and make dinner." Maka concluded quietly, making up her mind as she walked across the street to the store.

A few minutes later Maka realized that maybe it would have been for the better if she hadn't looked after all. She was completely surrounding by instruments off all types. Glancing back at the front of store, Maka scowled at the name of the store she had completely overlooked in the midst of her thoughts: MUSIC MANIA for all the finest instruments and CD's!

'Of course I would end up walking into a music store after everything that's happened today.'

"I didn't know you could play an instrument." A sudden voice stated, startling Maka from her thoughts.

Maka turned towards the person addressing her, eyes lighting up in surprise to see the owner of the voice was Hiro of all people.

"Oh hi Hiro, what brings you here? And no I don't play an instrument." Maka answered awkwardly, feeling slightly uncomfortable. She rarely spoke to Hiro outside of school and even then, it was barely but one or two sentences and now she was talking to him in a music store of all places.

Hiro didn't seem to take notice of Maka's troubled demeanor and continued prattling on.

"I was just looking for another instrument I could play." Hiro replied back, gazing around the lines of instruments placed neatly around them.

Maka frowned. "Great, even Hiro of all people seems to understand music way better than I do." Maka thought grouchily, but this time though Hiro seemed to pick up on Maka's emotions and commented on them.

"Were you looking to try and learn how to play an instrument?" Hiro asked kindly, slightly surprising Maka.

"Well actually, I'm not really good at music. I don't really even understand it to be honest." Maka admitted feeling, embarrassed over her predicament.

"I can help you tutor you in music if you want me to." Hiro mused cheekily, gaining a Cheshire-like grin that made Maka narrow her eyes.

"Oh really, what's the catch that you of all people would want to help me?" Maka retorted with a roll of her eyes. "He probably wants me to help him do something perverted knowing Hiro; I wouldn't put it past him." Maka mused still suspicious.

Hiro remained determined though and continued on with his proposition.

"Well since you think there's a catch, how about I help you learn how to play an instrument and understand music and you help me stop being the DWMA's punching bag."

Maka just stared at him blankly, where exactly was he going with this?

"How on earth do you expect me to help you stop being a punching bag? The only way for that to work is for you work-out and stick up for yourself and I can't help you with that." Maka explained tiredly, realizing that she was wasting her time now. Glancing back at her watch, it now read 8:05 pm. "Great Soul's going to be pissed now and wondering where the hell I was this whole time." Maka inwardly groaned and clutched her groceries back to her chest.

"Sorry Hiro, but I really need to get going now. I'm sorry I can't be of help to you on that issue." Maka stated, already turning to leave out of the store.

"Are you sure you really want to give up on an opportunity to understand music?" Hiro slyly uttered a smirk coming onto his face.

Maka sighed, stopping in her tracks and turned back to face Hiro. Did she really want to possibly lose out on an opportunity to understand music? 'Even if the person helping me is Hiro…' She trailed off internally.

"Think about it, I mean you would finally be able to appreciate music the same way the rest of Spartoi does and they would all stop making fun of you or teasing you about it. Plus, you could even do a duet with Soul once you finally became good at it!" Hiro urged, grinning even more when he noticed Maka blush at his Soul comment.

"I hate to admit it, but Hiro does make a good point. I would finally be able to know what Soul and Liz are talking about when they discuss musicians and whatnot and then even being able to play and instrument alongside Soul …" Maka contemplated quietly.

"But it's not like I can really help you with your punching bag problem. It doesn't seem like a fair trade off in my opinion." Maka said, after mulling over everything after a while.

"Don't you have any ideas you can pass along? Surely you must know someone or something that at least can get people to respect me the same way they did when I had Excalibur with me." Hiro asked.

"Hmm, well actually I do have these old workout videos that Black Star gave me for my birthday last year which he thought would supposedly make me closer to 'reaching his God-like perfections.' Maka stated. "I think it would take more than just that alone to help you though." Maka added on.

Hiro beamed. "Well, I guess that's something we can both help each other out with: our weaknesses. So what do you say, do we have a deal?" Hiro asked holding his hand out.

Maka stared at his hand for a second and contemplated for a second what she was getting herself into. This could either lead her to have more stress in her life or bring about a change she never thought could happen. Deciding for the moment that there were more positives than negatives, Maka came to a conclusion and smiled.

"Okay Hiro, you got a deal."


	2. Let's Keep It A Secret For Now

Chapter 2: Let's keep it a secret for now

"So, what exactly is your plan for helping me learn how to play an instrument and understand music?" Maka asked after she and Hiro shook hands.

"Well, what's your schedule like during the week? We need to find a time when both of us are available for this to work." Hiro replied back.

'I know now that Soul's a death scythe he has to have training with Kid on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and I have field practice and lessons Mondays and Thursdays. It seems like only Fridays and the weekend would be the best options, but then again…" Maka scrunched her face up with worry as she mused over her thoughts. There really wasn't anytime during the week that she wasn't busy working on something. How was she going to fit in music lessons as well?

Hiro on the other hand didn't seem too worried once Maka told him her schedule.

"Its fine Maka, we should meet after class on Tuesdays or Wednesdays then from what you are saying. That's when Soul has death scythe lessons and training right?" Hiro concluded.

"Yeah, but why does that matter?" Maka questioned, gaining a perplexed expression.

"The answer is obvious." Hiro stated, a smirk coming back onto his face. "Do you really want Soul or hell really any one of your friends finding out you're getting music lessons from me?"

Maka slightly groaned under her breathe. Why did it seem like Hiro was right about so many things involving her life lately. "I suppose if the lessons are after class on Wednesdays nobody would really know. Soul doesn't usually get back from his lessons until 5 or 5:30pm and I get out of class at about 2 pm so that's at least three hours I could get in." Maka considered tiredly. It seemed like she was just only making trouble for herself by making the decision to keep this all hidden, but if it all worked out, the possibilities could be endless.

"Okay I think we should just go with Wednesdays after class for right now and see where we can go from there." Maka stated, ready to be done with the conversation.

"Alright sounds good with me! Meet me back at this music shop next Wednesday after class around say 2:30 pm so we can get started as soon as possible." Hiro finished with a smile and with that he left out of the store leaving Maka alone with her thoughts.

Maka sighed. 'What am I getting myself into?'

~X~

"So where the heck have you been this whole time?" Soul sneered out as Maka walked back into the apartment. It was about 8:30 pm now and Blair had already left out for work leaving Maka alone to face Soul.

'Great, the first thing I come home to is Soul pressuring me for answers.' Maka thought sarcastically.

"Sorry I'm late. I was just um… looking at this new store that opened up and I lost track of time." Maka stated gently, trying to keep the anxiety out of her voice. It wasn't like that was lie after all; she really had been at new store.

Soul glared at her for a few more seconds; making Maka even more nervous he was going to question her further when he facial features began to relax.

"Well, you could have at least called me or texted. I thought something bad had happened to you after you just ran off earlier." Soul grumbled looking away from Maka, his cheeks getting slightly red.

'Oh, he was just worried about me and here I am getting angry and annoyed at him." Maka thought, feeling her own cheeks get slightly hot.

An awkward moment of silence fell between the two of them until Maka thought of a way to break it, heading over to the kitchen to set down the groceries.

"I'll make it up to for making you worry like that! Since dinner is so late today, I'll make anything you want just name it." Maka said cheerily trying to brighten up the situation.

"Oh really"? Soul stated with a grin moving up close to Maka to help her put away the rest of the items into the fridge or cabinets.

"Yeah... um really. "What's with Soul suddenly getting all close to me all of a sudden? He's just trying to mess me right?" Maka thought, her cheeks already beginning to flush again.

"Guess what though?" Soul whispered in her ear.

"What?" Maka whispered back in anticipation.

"I already bought take-out since you took too long to come home!" Soul shouted into ear completely destroying the mood and reigniting Maka's anger.

Maka turned back towards Soul and grabbed the nearby cookbook. "Wait Maka calm down, you don't need to hit me." Soul explained, beginning to edge away from Maka.

"You should have thought of that before you made that comment." Maka hissed back, striking his head just before he could run off.

As Soul clutched his head and sauntered away, Maka pondered over everything that had happened throughout the day.

'It seems like everything moved so fast today. I wonder if it was a good idea to go to Hiro for help instead of just asking Soul. I mean Soul probably knows way more about music than Hiro ever would, but I don't think he would be willing to teach me even though he's more comfortable playing now for people.' Maka thought, still feeling troubled.

'But then again with the way Soul's been teasing me and joking around with me so much lately, maybe it's for the best if he doesn't know so he can't further embarrass me or worse tell Black Star who will just tell the whole world.' Maka added as an afterthought, still irritated at by his past comments.

Well there was no use really worrying about it now that it she had made her decision. It was getting late and they had school tomorrow.

~X~

'I need to focus on today's lesson. No matter how boring or typical it is, I can't let any distractions get to me.' Maka thought, fidgeting slightly in her seat.

Maybe it was because Professor Stein's usual lesson plan just consisted of dissecting rare animals, but today in particular, it was much harder for Maka to focus on what was going on.

It was only Monday, so that meant there were still two more days of waiting until she met up with Hiro again to first pick out an instrument she could begin to master.

As much as Maka was still wary of Hiro being an actually good teacher, she still felt excited about the prospect of someone actually willing to help her to learn.

'I wonder what type of instrument I should pick. It should be something light enough I could carry around and at least be able to hide in my room away from both Blair and Soul's nosy eyes, but I also want it to be something that I actually like and isn't too complicated to learn.' Maka thought, she needed to start researching instruments online soon.

Maka glanced at her watch; there was still an hour left of class left. "Wednesday couldn't get here any slower." Maka grumbled under her breathe.

Finally after two hectic days of going through schoolwork and training, it was at last the day Maka had been anticipating: Wednesday.

'All I need to do now is just get my textbooks from my locker and then I can head to music store to meet up with Hiro.' Maka reflected gleefully, briskly walking through the halls towards her locker.

As soon as Maka opened her locker door though, an envelope suddenly fell out, startling her from her thoughts.

"What's this?" Maka questioned aloud. 'It's usually Soul who's the one who gets fan-girl letters so perhaps one of them mistook my locker for his again.'

The envelope looked simple enough. It was a plain white envelope with nothing special on it except for her name written on it in bold black ink.

"I guess this is for me then, I wonder who it's from." Maka pondered, as she began to open the envelope and read the letter.

Maka's eyes began to widen as she scanned over letter's contents.

In bold black letters the same as the one on the envelope the letter simply said:

If you are reading this Maka Albarn then you should already know now that Soul is a death scythe and that you have no business hanging around him so much. You two may still live together, but you have that's where all the similarities between you two stop. Don't think we won't take action.

Sincerely,

Anonymous

Maka couldn't help but roll her eyes and crumble up the letter and throw it away. Shortly after Soul had become a death scythe, she had been receiving anonymous letters from people who could only be Soul's fan-girls just hiding their identity. Even though most of the letters consisted of the same similar message of telling her to quit being Soul's friend (without any real logic towards why she should stop.), others were much harsher and criticized her on how good she was as a meister and as a person in general.

Unfortunately, no matter how much Maka had tried to track who was sending the letters, she still had no idea who was doing it and as much as she didn't want to let their words get to her, sometimes she couldn't help but feel they had a point. She couldn't tell Soul or anyone about these letters; no that was just going to make her look weak and dependable exactly what whoever "anonymous" seemed to think.

Maka let out a groan of frustration and quickly grabbed her books and headed straight for the music store. There went her good mood.

"I'm not going to let their words get to me no matter what; I'm definitely going to learn to master music at the least." Maka concluded to herself and she walked as fast as she could to the store and out of DWMA's halls.

~X~

"What took you so long? I was beginning to think you were going to bail on me." Hiro inquired, as he watched Maka walk up to him out of breathe.

"Yeah sorry, I had to stop by my locker and I kind of got distracted." Maka gruffly said, still a bit out of breathe from trying to make it on time and avoid thinking about the letter. "It's only 2:38 pm so it's not like I'm running that late." Maka added on.

"True, you're here now so let's head in." Hiro said as he headed back into Music Mania with Maka trailing behind him.

"Oh, I remember seeing you two just yesterday in here. Do you still need more time to look around or have you decided on something you want to buy?" A friendly voice asked.

Both Hiro and Maka turned towards the voice and were greeted by a kind elderly woman who looked to be in about her mid-60s. She had bright blue eyes and long wavy grey hair neatly pulled back in a ponytail.

"Well, were you two planning to buy something or just stare at me all day?" The elderly lady asked, a wry smile forming on her face.

"Actually she's the one looking for an instrument." Hiro stated, pointing towards Maka with his thumb.

"You should have said something earlier!" The woman said with a grin. "Is this going to be your first instrument? Oh, I love helping a beginner… and with even help from your boyfriend too I presume." The woman began to prattle on about random topics beginning to annoy both Maka and Hiro until another voice interrupted her.

"Honey calm down, you're asking them too many questions at once and you are going to scare them off!" This time the speaker's voice belonged to an elderly old man who could only be assumed to be the woman's husband.

"Sorry about that. We just opened up this store as you know and my wife can get little too excited when she sees a customer" the man explained apologetically.

"It's okay." Maka replied back. 'Though I would be happier if she hadn't assumed Hiro was my boyfriend, that's gross.' "To answer your wife's question though, yes I am looking for an instrument."

The man smiled warmly, "from the look on your face, I think you already have one in mind. Am I right?" he asked.

"You are." Maka stated with a grin, looking around the store for the instrument she had researched. Over the past couple of days she had looked online and read in the library over good beginners' instruments to play, paying special attention to how each instrument sounded and how much each one would cost.

Finally, Maka found the instrument she was looking and held it out for everyone to see.

"I'm ready to purchase this instrument sir." Maka said, holding it close with a smile.

A/N: Well that's Chapter 2 I hope people are enjoying this story I have so many ideas for it is just hard expand on them. Read & Review to let me know what you think!


	3. Just A Beginner

Chapter 3: Just a Beginner

"So you decided on the saxophone then, huh?" The elderly man stated as he began to ring it up at the cash register.

"Yes sir, I did a lot of research on the instrument and I think it would be a good instrument for me to start out with." Maka replied back cheerfully.

"Oh please, there's no need to be so polite. I'm Mr. Clark, but you can call me by my first name Ryan and my wife who was bugging you earlier is Cindy."

"Oh okay then. I guess thank you Ryan, I really appreciate it." Maka answered happily, glad that he was being so nice and helpful.

"If you ever need any help learning how to play or just want to jam out with us you are always welcome back here. Oh and tell your friends about us we really need the business!" Cindy shouted as Maka and Hiro made their way out of the store and back out onto the crosswalk.

"We'll keep that in mind." Hiro mumbled quietly as they walked out earning a look of confusion from Maka once she had placed the saxophone back into its case.

"What's gotten you so quiet all of a sudden?" Maka asked looking at Hiro with a bit of concern. 'I hope he isn't thinking of quitting before we even got started. It cost a lot of money to just pay for this saxophone!' Maka thought, beginning to get a little annoyed at the silent treatment she was getting.

Hiro abruptly spoke up just as Maka had finished her thought.

"How much did it cost you to buy that saxophone?" Hiro questioned, as he glanced over the case. Instruments in general can be very expensive purchase. "I don't want you to spend all your money on just this one item."

'Just this one item? How much stuff am I going to need to buy if I want to get better?' Maka thought in bewilderment. More importantly though 'How much does Hiro think I'm willing to spend to do this?'

Maka took out the receipt from her coat pocket. "Let's see, the saxophone cost 845.00, plus the case with the accessories and beginner music lesson book was around an additional 100 so altogether including tax I guess about a little over 1000 dollars was spent." Maka replied ,as she looked everything over just to make sure.

Hiro looked amazed at how calm Maka was about just spending so much money. "Maka is just a student like me so unless she is secretly rich how did she get the money to pay for that?" Hiro pondered glancing at Maka with amusement.

Maka caught the look Hiro was giving her and frowned in irritation. "Don't think I got the money to pay for this in some kind of shady or sleazy way Hiro." Maka snapped as she glanced back over the case. 'He doesn't even know how difficult it was for me to truly get the money.' Maka thought in annoyance as she remembered back to a few days ago.

FLASHBACK

"Oh, my sweet darling Maka! Papa is so happy you wanted to go out for a father/daughter date!" Spirit shouted in elation, "But I have to ask why are you dressed up like that?" He asked in confusion, calming down when he noticed her odd get up.

Instead of being dressed in her usual school uniform or even her casual clothes, Maka was dressed in all black, wearing a matching black jeans and a hoodie with dark black sunglasses to obscure her eyes.

"Shh, Shh! Keep it down will you; what if someone I know hears you or worse, sees me!" Maka sneered out coldly.

Spirit immediately began to sink his head in depression and look down at his feet in nervously.

Maka sighed and with a roll of her eyes took off her sunglasses so she could at least look at her father clearly.

"Listen, you know I rarely if ever have called you out for a father/daughter date so you must know I called you out here to have an important discussion." Maka muttered, wanting to get straight to the point.

"Um, okay then." Spirit muttered still scuffling a bit at his shoes. He lifted his face back up towards his daughter. "It must be something important then if you had to call on me though, correct?" Spirit emphasized.

"Yeah, it is." Maka grumbled starting to feel a bit nervous herself now. 'How am I going to ask him for the money? I managed to at least take out about 500 dollars without ruining my bank account too much, but buying an Alto saxophone costs at least another 500, possibly even more.' Maka thought unsure how she could bring up the topic.

Noticing that Maka seemed to be having a difficult time finding her words, Spirit gave her a small smile. "It's okay Maka. Take all the time you need to tell me what's on your mind."

Maka exhaled and finally spilled out why she even bothered calling him in the first place. "I want to learn how to place music by buying a saxophone and I was hoping you could help split the costs with me for paying for one. This has been something that's been bothering me for a long time."

After Maka finished off her explanation of her goals to improve on her weaknesses and made a promise she would somehow find a way to pay him back, she peered over at her Papa hoping he would agree to help her.

Spirit stayed quiet for a few seconds, thinking over everything Maka had just told him before he eventually spoke up again. "Alright Maka, I'll split the cost of this saxophone with you."

"Really?! You seriously don't know how much this means to me!" Maka stated in relief. 'I was worried for a second there that I would have to look elsewhere for a way to find the money.' Maka mused.

"But before I write out the check I have one question I have to ask." Spirit announced in an oddly serious manner for him.

"Um alright, what is it?" Maka grumbled hoping that he wasn't going to try to pry into her personal life.

"Why exactly do you suddenly want to better figure out music? This wouldn't be to impress a certain octopus brat, would it?" Spirit continued on, staring at Maka warily.

Maka could feel herself starting to blush again so she quickly cut Spirit off before he would begin to notice. "You mean Soul right? And no, this isn't to impress him; I'm doing this for me. Music has never been one of my strong points so I was just thinking it was about time I learned." Maka finished with a scoff hoping her dad wouldn't prod further. 'That didn't sound like a convincing argument, but I hope it works.'

Spirit still looked unsure, clicking his tongue in thought before his usual goofy grin came back onto his face.

"Well that's wonderful news! I'm glad my darling Maka is focusing on her studies instead of worrying about boys because if they know what's good for them I'll-"

"Yeah, yeah that's nice to know." Maka said, effectively cutting her dad off before he broke into his usual ramblings. Maka quickly got up from her seat and put on back on her shades and fixed her 'disguise'.

"Thank you for the check Papa. I will make sure to pay you back when I get the money to. Have a nice day." Maka hastily stated, strolling back into the crowds.

As Maka walked back to her apartment to change out of her dark clothes, her stomach flipped uncomfortably at her father's no so innocent question.

'You aren't just doing this to impress a certain octopus brat? No of course not. I don't need to be good at music in order to get Soul's attention; I'm doing this to benefit myself first and foremost." Maka thought, answering her own question.

"Though it is getting harder for me to even believe myself now." Maka whispered to herself, as she touched the palms of her hands to her cheeks in an attempt to stop the flushing.

FLASHBACK ENDS

~X~

Hiro chuckled once Maka finished with her story. "Well, at least your Dad was willing to split the cost of it with you."

"Yeah, Yeah I know, but I have no idea how I'm going to pay him back though. I don't make that much money from the missions we go on and now that the Kishin has been resealed, there isn't really too much going on right now." Maka complained.

"Don't worry we will definitely get the money back. Maybe not today or even tomorrow, but in the near future we will have that and much more." Hiro replied back mysteriously.

Maka grimaced at how creepy Hiro was being. 'What does he mean by that? He's not thinking of doing something illegal, right?' Maka thought.

"Anyways," Maka stated ready for a change of topic. "Where exactly should we go now to practice? It can't be a place people would really expect to see the two of us there."

Hiro glanced around the street; it was still bustling with people shopping at different boutiques and stores.

"It wouldn't be good to stay in this area of town. Someone from the DWMA is bound to come by here at some point." Hiro concluded after a while. "Hey, what about if we just to go to my apartment? That way at least we aren't out at a public area and aren't making too much noise to bother anyone." Hiro reasoned.

Maka just shrugged her shoulders. It's not like she could really think of any better places to go to at the moment.

"Alright, lead the way." Maka said.

As Maka and Hiro hustled down the street quickly, Maka started to think of a way to at least get another conversation going. 'I rather as well just try to get to know Hiro better if he really is serious about making improvements.' Maka reflected.

"So Hiro, what instruments do you play anyways?" Maka asked curiously.

"Oh, me? Well I play the guitar, but the other day when we first met up in the music store I was looking into maybe playing the trumpet also." Hiro explained with a smug grin.

Maka just faked a smile and nodded her head. 'He's going to need to work on his personality or else he will be impossible to deal with." Maka mused.

By about 3 pm, Maka and Hiro had finally settled into Hiro's apartment.

Maka took a quick look around, Hiro's apartment was surprising large and neatly decorated with fancy décor. Even taking a small peek at his patio, Maka could she he had aligned with a colorful array of flowers and outdoor furniture.

"I guess it makes sense Hiro has so much space available, after all he doesn't even have a partner." Maka considered.

"So, you're keeping up your end of the deal, right? Did you bring those videos that you mentioned beforehand?" Hiro asked, as he settled onto his sofa.

"Oh yeah of course, let me just get them out of my bag." Maka stated, as she took out about 3 DVD cases. 'Hmm, while I'm rummaging through my bag I rather as well just take out that one book also.'

Maka handed over the CD's to Hiro who happily took them and placed them into his DVD player. While he was setting it up, he turned back to look at what Maka was doing and stared at her in confusion.

"Uh Maka, what exactly are you doing?" Hiro questioned. Maka was currently sitting on the floor her eyes focused on a book titled: Absolute Beginners for the Alto Saxophone.

Maka shrugged. "I was just reading about the saxophone before I actually started playing it." Maka responded.

Hiro began to crack up. "Wow, it's no wonder you are so horrible with music! Music isn't something you can read about in a book. It's something you need to actually experience and try out. Take out your saxophone and begin learning the keys." Hiro finished with a snicker.

Maka huffed. 'He didn't have to laugh at me, he's lucky I'm not in the mood to hit him.' Maka thought angrily to herself, as she scooted back over to her case.

Maka opened back up the case to her saxophone and admired it for a second. The saxophone she had picked out was black in color with golden plated keys that glimmered in the light of the room.

Taking it out of the case carefully and applying the reed and mouthpiece to it, Maka opened up the music lesson book and went to the first page. The first song to learn in the book was simple enough: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.

~X~

Hiro sighed as he tried to focus on the first cd of Black Star's workout tapes. It had only been about 30 minutes and he was already starting to feel bored. 'When the hell does he actually start working out and stop talking about how much of a God he is?' Hiro thought in annoyance, when a sudden buzzing and clicking noise interrupted his thoughts.

'What the heck was that noise?' Hiro thought, getting up from the couch and walking over to where Maka was sitting.

'Ugh, why does every noise I make that comes out of this instrument sound like a dying animal?!"'Maka thought in dismay.

Maka's playing was suddenly interrupted by Hiro who just shook his head in frustration.

"Maka, you aren't going to master playing the saxophone in just one day. You don't even have your fingers on the right keys of the sax." Hiro pointed out, noticing that she was gripping the saxophone in the wrong way.

'Hmm, Maka is known for being a bookworm and into stuff like puzzles and what not. Maybe if she was taught in a similar manner she would better learn.' Hiro considered.

"Hey Maka, to make you better understand music consider it kind of like a puzzle game." Hiro stated. When he noticed Maka still look confused, he continued on. "Each key on the saxophone represents a sound that will either make the noise come out high or low. The first lesson I want you to work on is memorizing where to place your fingers on the saxophone and learning what each musical note means." Hiro finished off; making sure Maka understood what he was saying.

"Oh, you mean kind of like matching them up together right?" Maka asked, going back to the index of the music book which had a diagram of where to place her fingers.

"Yeah, exactly! Next week Wednesday I'll quiz you over how well you knew everything and then maybe we can actually move on to playing a song." Hiro reasoned. "And to make sure you don't end up making me go deaf." He added as an afterthought.

"Okay then, well how's it going on your end? Is Black Star's video helping you any?" Maka asked jokingly and laughed when Hiro gained a dull expression on his face.

"I think the best thing to help you right now is to just skip ahead to the parts where he actually is working out and set goals for yourself. Start drinking a lot more water and write down how much push-ups and curl-ups you were able to do in a log. Gradually build more and more on top of that as the days go by." Maka speculated.

"Alright then, guess I'm going to have to invest in some dumbbells and start doing some morning workouts before school starts." Hiro replied.

The next hour and half went by quickly and by the time it was 4:45 pm, Maka realized she needed to hurry home before Soul began to wonder where she was.

"Don't forget I'm going to quiz you next week Maka!" Hiro bellowed to Maka from his patio as he watched her run out his doors and back onto the streets.

'Yeah, yeah; that's the least of my problems right now!' Maka thought as she ran as fast as she possibly could back to her home.

~X~

"You look like you just ran a marathon." Soul mentioned as the two sat down eating dinner.

"Yeah, field practice went on a bit longer than normal so I'm still a bit tired from it." Maka lied. In reality as soon as she had gotten home, she had tried to practice even more her saxophone and ended up out of breathe. She was just lucky Soul had returned back to the apartment at about 5:20 pm so she was able to at least hide her sax under her bed and get a drink of water to try and regain her energy.

"Well don't overdo, after all you don't have me around to make sure you don't go fainting in the middle of the field." Soul teased causing Maka to huff and look away in embarrassment.

"I'll be fine Soul, but I do appreciate your concern for me." Maka stated warmly, smiling even more when she noticed him try to hide his own reddening cheeks by looking off out the window.

The rest of the evening remained pretty uneventful and after saying goodnight to each other, Maka headed off back to her room to get ready for bed.

Maka carefully opened back up her saxophone and beamed at in appreciation. 'I may still not know how to play this instrument very well, but someday hopefully I'll be able to play this sax as well as Soul is able to play his piano.' Maka thought dreamily before closing it back up and heading to bed.

A/N: Feedback is always appreciated let me know how you think the story is going so far and thanks for reading as always.


	4. The Debut Of Masquerade

Chapter 4: The Debut of Masquerade

Over the following next few weeks, both Hiro and Maka made huge improvements in terms of getting over their flaws.

Maka had completed just about all the lessons involved in the music book, with Hiro quizzing her on what each note meant and what sound was representing by each letter each day. She was even able to get down playing most of the beginners songs and few of the more advanced ones.

Hiro himself had kept his word to buy the dumbbells and began doing morning runs around the town and drinking protein shakes. Even though he felt insanely sore from overdoing it (which Maka had warned him about), he was at least beginning to show he had gained better strength with the muscles to show it.

It was nice that they both were benefitting from practicing and getting advice from each other, but Maka still felt troubled by not only keeping the lessons a secret from Soul, but from the rest of her friends also. She had already had one close call last week during lunch that could have just exposed the secret.

FLASHBACK

"So my right index finger goes to the top one at the bottom and my left middle finger goes to the center one at the top." Maka mumbled to herself as she made motions with her fingers.

"Hey Maka what are you talking about to yourself over there?" Black Star slobbered out, food still in his mouth flying onto the table.

"Black Star, please at least swallow your food before you start talking." Tsubaki stated next to him with a sigh.

"Come to think of it, you have been acting kind of distant lately, is something troubling you Maka?" Kid questioned in concern.

"Um, No I'm fine! I was just …uh thinking about the homework that professor Stein assigned us for this week." Maka lied, smiling to alleviate his worry.

The look Kid gave her back obviously showed he didn't really believe her, but luckily he didn't inquire on the topic any further.

"Maybe Maka was thinking about a guy she likes perhaps?" Liz questioned, a devious smile appearing on her face when Maka started blushing.

"Ooh! Tell us who he is Maka! Does he go here or like to read books like you do, but most importantly does he like giraffes?!" Patty exclaimed excitedly.

"Oh you guys, I wasn't thinking about a guy really! Can we please just change the topic?" Maka asked, embarrassed over how now everyone was looking at her as Patty loudly declared she was in love.

"Well, if you weren't thinking about guys then what were you really thinking about?" Soul asked sternly. He had been oddly quiet during this whole conversation and now he was finally speaking up.

"Just like I told Kid, I was thinking about Dr. Stein's assignment." Maka replied back angrily. 'I really wish Soul would just believe my lie and stop questioning me.' Maka thought sourly.

Soul's ruby-colored eyes narrowed as he glared back at Maka.

"I don't think you're being completely honest with me. You've been up to something these past few weeks and haven't told anyone, aren't you?" Soul stated in a whisper that only Maka seemed to hear.

Everything became rather quiet after that until Black Star cut in.

"Am I the only who sees that a lot of sexual tension seems to be going on between those two over there?" Black Star announced loudly as he pointed a finger at both Soul and Maka, grinning when he saw them both began to blush.

"Black Star, shut up!" Maka and Soul both yelled in unison, before they quickly shifted away from each awkwardly in realization how alike they were being.

'This day just went from being okay to horrible in only a matter of minutes.' Maka thought gloomily.

FLASHBACK ENDS

~X~

'I'm sorry; I don't mean to lie to you constantly Soul. I just want to get better at music without having to deal with all the taunting and the teasing.' Maka bitterly thought, as returned her books back to her locker to meet back up with Hiro again.

Once again, just as Maka was opening up her locker, another letter fell out, but this time a foul odor came with it that smelled similar to that of rotten eggs or spoiled milk.

'Don't tell me they really put an actual stink bomb in my locker?! Now they're just being immature.' Maka scowled, getting pissed as she picked up the letter.

The letter this time was much shorter, but it still made its point.

We hope you enjoy the fresh smell of rotten eggs and decayed fish. We think they fit well with your personality and how you look after all, but this is only the beginning we already gave you your first warning and we are prepared to do more if necessary.

Sincerely,

Anonymous

"Oh yeah? Well then just do your worse then. I can handle anything you throw at me." Maka muttered to herself crumbling the note and throwing it away. 'I've already progressed a lot in overcoming my faults since their last letter, if only I could figure out who or at least which people are doing this.'

"So, I was thinking we should make today's practice and stuff different from usual." Hiro stated once they had both settled back again at his apartment.

"What did you have in mind then for us to do?" Maka asked curiously.

"Well, since you've already pretty much mastered most of the stuff in that music lesson in a faster amount of time than I expected and I've already gone through 2 out of those 3 DVD's that you gave me, I was thinking it was about time now we really put you to the test and have you begin performing for other people." Hiro voiced.

"What?!" Maka cried in disbelief. "Hiro, I'm not ready to perform for other people! I've barely even done enough practicing with you and your guitar. What makes you think I'm ready to do that?" Maka explained in shock.

Hiro appeared unfazed by ignoring Maka's worries and just grinned broadly.

"Oh what's there to be afraid of Maka? You've already shown that you are pretty much a fast learner with the saxophone and practice makes perfect, right?" Hiro concluded with a smirk.

"That's the problem. I haven't practiced enough. We've only been meeting up with each other for about close to two months now. I hardly consider myself that good; I'm mediocre at best." Maka grouched out.

"Maka, I've told you this before, but you need to have more confidence with your playing. Sure beforehand you played like a dying animal, but now you're playing doesn't make me want cover my ears at least!" Hiro stated cheerfully.

Maka arched an eyebrow at Hiro. 'Was that supposed to be an attempt to compliment me or insult me?'

"Besides it is not like you are going to be performing alone. I'm going to be playing my guitar with you, just like we have been practicing. Consider this like your Final Exam to see if these weeks of practice have truly been worth it." Hiro mentioned.

It seemed like Hiro was dead set on them performing, but Maka still remained unsure. 'What if we perform and then someone from the DWMA sees us, then they'll run off and tell Soul and then Soul will tell Black Star who will tell the whole school and then somehow Papa will find out… and no I don't want all that to happen!" Maka thought in distress.

"I'll only perform on one condition." Maka said after thinking everything over.

"Okay, what's on your mind?" Hiro inquired.

"I don't want anyone to know it's us if we perform. We need to have something that covers our faces or at least makes us not look like how we normally are." Maka expressed.

"Hmm, well I guess I do have these leftover masks from when the drama club forced me to help them with setting up for a play. Hold on, let me go get it from my closet." Hiro thought over as he walked into his room and came out with large box labeled COSTUME PLAY in blue marker.

Maka walked over to it and peered over every mask. It seemed like whatever performance the drama club had been doing had been for some kind of masquerade ball or show. A dark green mask with shiny turquoise jewels encrusted in it suddenly caught Maka's eye.

"Oh, I like this one!" Maka exclaimed, as she placed it on her face. "Which one are you going to go with Hiro?" Maka asked as he continued to rummage through the box.

"It has to be one that represents how much I have transformed over these last few weeks. Something like this one fits me best I think." Hiro announced proudly. The mask he had picked out was silver in color with violet colored diamonds around the edges of it.

"We shouldn't just stop with just covering up our faces. We should really be unique about this to make us stand out from other groups and bands." Hiro asserted.

Hiro walked back over to the box and took out some hair dye.

"Why do we need hair dye?" Maka asked confused.

"Don't worry, this is for me. I'm going to dye my hair brown to further disguise myself. You should think of something to do also, maybe with your hair so there is less of a chance people will recognize you." Hiro replied back, as he walked over to his mirror and began applying the dye.

Maka mused over what she could do. Keeping her hair in her normal pigtails would be too obvious and give her away even with wearing a mask.

Maka pulled her pigtails out and brushed out her hair. Her hair currently reached her around her mid upper back when she finished combing it out.

"Maybe I could just clip in these curly extensions to my hair at least then I won't really look like myself. Adding make up and acting a bit out of the ordinary should throw enough people off." Maka mused, as she took out a packet of unused extensions from the costume box.

After about 45 of minutes of styling and changing into casual wear, both Maka and Hiro headed out to where they would have their first performance.

~X~

"So where exactly are we going to be performing at and are we going to introduce ourselves when we go up on stage?" Maka questioned as they strolled along the street.

"When we get up on that stage I will longer be 'Hiro' and you will no longer be 'Maka'. As soon as we don those masks we should go by a codename. I was thinking since our masks kind of represent gemstones we should match up with them.

"So like since my mask is green in color I would be Emerald and you would be Diamond?" Maka questioned.

"That sounds good! Lady Emerald and Sir Diamond and together we are Masquerade!" Hiro declared proudly.

Maka just chuckled a bit at Hiro's enthusiasm. She still wasn't too sure how exactly good she was at playing the sax especially keeping up with Hiro when he played his guitar, but at least they were starting out small and it was more practice.

Hiro unexpectedly made an abrupt stop causing Maka to turn towards him in puzzlement.

"We're here." He announced, surveying the name of the club.

Maka followed the direction of Hiro's eyes and panicked when she read the name of the club: The White Lily Café and Pub.

'I know I've heard the name of this club somewhere before. I'm sure this is one of the clubs that Soul and Liz have mentioned before that would be fun for us all to visit as a group at some point. What if one of them is here right now? I know people from school like to come here. Maka thought, anxiety starting to build up uncomfortably in her chest.

Unfortunately, before Maka could think of just turning around and walking back home, Hiro reached out and grabbed her by the arm and dragged her inside the club's doors.

A/N: That's it for Chapter 4. Feedback with reviews or messages is always appreciated and thanks for reading as usual!


	5. People Get Suspicious

Chapter 5: People get Suspicious…

"Hiro stop pulling me by the arm, I'm not going to run off!" Maka snapped out, as they entered the lobby of the club.

"Really, well to me it looked like you were ready to turn around. Don't worry we'll be fine, like I mentioned earlier. Nobody is going to know it is us up there." Hiro retorted back, letting go of her arm and walking up to the manager of the club.

"Hello and welcome to the White Lily Café and Pub, how can I help you two?" The manager asked as Hiro approached the booth.

"Yes, I heard that you guys like to take live requests for music performances every day from 4 to 5 pm and I was wondering if my companion and I could play." Hiro requested, pointing towards Maka at the mention of companion.

"Sure! We always enjoy hearing newcomers' play! You two can start setting up backstage while the other performers finish up. Oh and my name is Jessica, but everyone here likes to call me Jess for short." She replied back happily.

"Thanks Jess and I think you'll be speechless in awe by the time you finish hearing us play!" Hiro said, winking and being openly flirtatious.

"Oh um, okay then?" Jess replied backing away from Hiro slightly in repulsion.

While Hiro continued his vain attempts at trying to flirt with Jess, Maka took in the atmosphere of the club.

The velvet red walls of the club were aligned with portraits of famous jazz musicians and artists from throughout the ages particularly from the 50s and 60s era. Many of the customers were talking casually amongst themselves at the bar or were lounging on the matching velvet colored sofas.

"Well, at least it seems like the club isn't too busy right now and I don't really see anyone from school that would recognize me." Maka thought, beginning to feel a bit relieved.

"Hey Maka, we are going to be up soon. Let's just head backstage now." Hiro piped up, bringing Maka out of her thoughts.

"Oh, alright then. I thought you were still talking to Jess." Maka remarked when she suddenly noticed the imprint of a hand on Hiro's left cheek.

Maka started to smirk. "Did she really slap you?" Maka asked trying to hold back a laugh.

Hiro scowled. "I don't want to talk about it. Let's get ready for our performance."

Maka sighed as she fixed the curls in her hair and applied a bit more make-up to her cheeks. "There's no need to be nervous, there's no need to be nervous." Maka repeated in her head.

"Don't forget your mask." Hiro remarked, breaking Maka's internal mantra.

"I won't, that's the main feature." Maka replied back as she placed the verdant-colored mask back onto her face and took a quick glance at herself in the mirror.

"I think I'm all ready to go, how about you?" Maka asked.

Hiro looked over his hair, making sure there weren't any blonde spots left that he might have missed back at the apartment and applied his silver-colored mask.

"Okay I'm ready now and we have our music sheets also just in case we forget where we left off." Hiro explained as he opened up his case and took out his guitar.

Maka took out her saxophone and placed the strap around her neck.

"Alright next up in our variety music hour we have two newcomers playing at our club today. Everyone please give a big welcome to the duo Masquerade!" Jess announced loudly from onstage.

"Well, that's our cue." Hiro said standing up and heading out.

"Yeah it's show-time." Maka replied back. 'Today is the start of me playing for others the melodies that Hiro and I have been working on for weeks.'

~X~

Maka and Hiro's playing together started out slightly out of sync at first, with Maka at first moving too slowly behind Hiro's strumming of the guitar's chords and forgetting at one point where they were on the music sheet, but eventually after telling herself to mentally calm down, Maka was able to keep up with Hiro's tempo and the two played a nice melody of smooth and classical jazz.

Maka was mostly surprised by how much the audience had seemed to enjoy the performance, even with all the mistakes she had made.

"You guys did great!" Jessica called out to them as she walked up back to the two of them once the applause had died down. "A little bumpy in some spots, but still overall really good! Would you two mind performing for us again at our club? I'll even pay you guys to perform on our busier nights since the crowd seemed to like you so much." Jessica added in as an incentive.

'We could actually get paid to do this? But that would mean having to put in more practice hours and I already have so much work as a meister…' Maka thought feeling unsure what to say.

Hiro looked excited at the prospect of being paid. "See I told you that you would find a way to pay back your dad and get more money." Hiro whispered to Maka.

"I still need to think about this! I don't just want to rush into doing performances every week now." Maka muttered back angrily.

"Oh come on Maka, don't you want to continue to get better so you can perform with Soul Eater someday?" Hiro taunted causing Maka to redden in embarrassment.

At the mention of Soul's name though, Maka's eyes suddenly started to widen in horror.

"Oh crap, what time is it anyways? We got here at about a little past 4 pm." Maka asked, fear suddenly lacing her voice.

'How could I be so stupid to lose track of time and forget I needed to be home at least by 5:30 pm.' Maka thought in alarm.

"Right now it is close to 6:00 pm." Jessica remarked checking the clock on the back wall.

"Crap, that's even worse! I'll have to get back to you in terms of the performing again." Maka said, already feeling apprehensive now. 'What excuse can I give Soul today?!'

"It's fine really, there's no need to make a decision today, but here's my business card in case you want to keep in touch. I never got your names by the way." Jessica mentioned, as she handed a card to both Hiro and Maka before they left out the doors.

"You can just call us Emerald and Diamond, respectively." Hiro yelled out to Jessica as she left them to talk and get changed.

"I think we should perform again here, imagine how much money we could accumulate over the weeks!" Hiro brought up gleefully.

Maka just glared at Hiro in annoyance. "We should at least think this over before we just sign a deal and say yes." Maka grumbled. "And besides, there might be other places in town we could perform at also." Maka added in.

Hiro sighed. "I guess you have a point." The two finished packing up their stuff and headed outside.

The sun was already getting close to setting, the sky a colorful mix of orange and red.

"Here, hold onto my saxophone and I'll pick it up from you next week." Maka said as she handed him the case.

"Why do you want me to hold onto it?" Hiro asked in confusion.

"I can't go back to my apartment carrying that. Soul would question me and I already have to come up with an excuse as to why I'm so late coming home." Maka replied back, as she finished fixing her hair back into their usual pigtails.

"Oh alright then, hurry home then so that you don't keep that boyfriend of yours waiting any longer!" Hiro teased as he began walked in the opposite direction.

Maka sighed. 'I'm totally screwed when I get home. I have only one excuse I can think of that hopefully won't make him question me too much.'

~X~

"See there she is Soul and you were so worried because she wouldn't respond to any of your calls or texts!" Blair purred out as she watched Maka quietly walk in and close the door.

"Shut up Blair I wasn't worried about wherever Tiny Tits was it." Soul grumbled from the couch.

Maka watched him silently for a moment, before coming up behind him and dropping her largest textbook onto his head from her bag.

"Ouch what the hell was that for?" Soul growled out, glaring back up at Maka as he rubbed his head.

"For calling me names, I don't call you mean nicknames so why do you do the same to me?" Maka replied back, becoming just as mad as Soul.

"Well maybe I wouldn't need to insult you so much if that wasn't the only way to catch your attention now in days!" Soul replied back in frustration.

"Huh? Wait, what are you talking about? Maka asked her anger starting to dissipate a bit.

"Where were you earlier Maka? And be honest with me." Soul questioned changing the topic as he got off the couch and grabbed Maka by the shoulders to force her to look at him.

Maka's heart sped up at how close they were getting. Making sure to keep eye contact with Soul she replied back softly "I was at the library reading when I lost track of time, I was so focused on what I was reading I didn't hear my phone going off. I'm sorry I'm being keep you in dark, its...it's something I don't think you'll understand." Maka lied trying to keep your heartbeat and wavelength in check.

Soul stared at her for what seemed like ages before he finally let go of her shoulders and turned away.

"You can be such a bookworm sometimes." Soul chuckled a bit before turning his attention back towards the TV.

"Yeah I know, well I'm going to take a quick shower and a nap. It's your turn to make dinner anyways." Maka muttered with a yawn as she trudged over to her room and closed the door.

Soul watched her walk out, his eyes narrowing. 'You may think it's something I won't understand Maka, but I plan on finding out about whatever it you're keeping from me one way or another.'

~X~

Maka was hoping that the following week at school would hopefully lead back to some normalcy after doing her first performance, but unfortunately things only seemed to get stranger.

"Hiro! Please pick me to be your weapon!" One girl cried out.

"No Hiro, I should be your weapon!" Another girl said with a pout, shoving the other girl out of the way.

"Now ladies, please there's really no need to fight over me!" Hiro stated suavely wrapping his arms around both girls.

"I never thought I would see the day that Hiro of all people would be getting partner requests, and was Hiro always that muscular?" Kim ogled as she watched Hiro chat with two girls from the NOT class.

"Kim don't pay any attention to that idiot. Remember that's Hiro you're talking about." Ox ford stated next to her, watching him with envy from afar. 'When the hell did Hiro get so muscular and since when do girls go after him? Something just isn't right about this situation.' He pondered as he continued to watch girls flock towards him.

Maka rolled her eyes at Hiro's antics. Hiro might have gotten stronger from taking her advice and watching Black Star's videos, but his ego had gone back up with it when girls took notice of his change in appearance and attitude.

"I don't get why those girls are focusing on Hiro when they could be focusing on a God like me!" Black Star scoffed as he passed by Maka and headed inside class with Tsubaki trying to tell him to lower his voice.

"This isn't good Hiro is drawing too much attention to himself, I should have been better prepared for this." Maka grumbled to herself.

Finally the end of the school day came as Maka walked over to her locker, to her surprise she saw Hiro already waiting for her there.

"What are you doing here? What if someone sees us?" Maka whispered as she quickly looked around.

"Don't worry there is nobody in the halls. I just wanted to give you your sax back. I put it in my locker after you left last week and I didn't want to forget since I have a date after school." Hiro boasted.

"Oh okay well come on. Let's go get it before somebody sees us." Maka said as the two walked down the corridor to his locker.

Unbeknownst to the two of them a pair of eyes followed them down the hall and snapped a quick photo of them with their phone.

'Why is Maka Albarn hanging out with the school's loser Hiro? This could be perfect blackmail I could use to finally get the upper edge on her.' Sauntering away in the opposite direction.

A/N: That's it for Chapter 5 feedback is always welcomed and thanks for reading as always


	6. Those Students From The NOT Class

Chapter 6: Those students from the NOT class

"Ladies, I think I may have just gotten just what we need to finally get that damn Maka Albarn away from our Soul." Rachel exclaimed aloud with a smirk.

"This better not be just another one of your stupid letters that we slide into her locker because she doesn't seem to care that we do that." Ashley retorted with a yawn.

"Shut-it Ash, trust me; this time the blackmail I have on her will definitely get her to stop hanging around Soul so much."

"Oh?" Ashley stated, slightly interested now in what Rachel had to say. "Hey guys, it seems like Rachel really has something now that will knock Albarn off the pedestal that this school puts her on." Ashley said as she turned towards Kate, Megan, and Nancy.

"Well hurry up and show us Rachel we don't have all day." Kate huffed impatiently.

Rachel took out her phone and went through her pictures and slid until she got to the photo she wanted.

"You won't believe it unless you see it." Rachel mused confidently.

Said picture on Rachel's phone showed Maka talking to Hiro alone in the hallways. From the way it looked on her phone, it seemed like the two of them were trying to remain hidden from the public's eye.

"Oh my gosh is that really Maka Albarn talking to that deadbeat Hiro?! Do you think they are secretly dating or something?" Megan cried her mouth agape.

"Well unless Rachel photo shopped that picture it seems to be the two of them." Nancy stated, as peered at the photo more clearly just to make sure it was them.

"Do you know what this means girls? With a bit of editing and work we can send this photo to Maka and tell her to end her friendship with Soul and if she ignores our threat, then we can just post this photo all over the school just to humiliate her."

All of five of the girls began to laugh obnoxiously until they were interrupted by a guy sitting next to them.

"Can you girls shut up for like 5 minutes? I swear hearing you all talk is worse than nails on a chalkboard." Travis spat, as he rubbed his ears.

"Nobody gives a crap what you think Travis." Rachel scoffed. Rachel turned back to her friends. "Now, I was thinking instead of remaining anonymous like normal I want to confront Maka this time face to face."

"What do you have in mind that we should do?" Nancy asked.

"You guys don't need to do anything yet; I know that Maka gets out of class at 3 pm today. I'll just meet her in front of her locker and let her know I mean business." Rachel replied.

"Don't you mean WE Rachel, don't try to hog Soul all to yourself!" Kate snapped.

"Of course, I know this is a group effort." Rachel explained trying to calm Kate down. 'Though me going alone will definitely help give me a bigger advantage over the rest of them.' Rachel thought internally with a smirk.

Travis listened to the girls as they finished discussing their plans for the day. 'So they are trying to break up Maka Albarn's partnership with Soul Eater at 3 pm huh? I think I'll stop by also just to see what happens.'

~X~

Ever since Hiro had somehow gained popularity with girls (probably only due to his better looking body from his continued workouts and not his personality), both Hiro and Maka had decided it would be best to practice on their own also instead of meeting up every Wednesday.

Maka personally did not care and was actually a bit happy to just practice doing lessons and watching online videos alone in the apartment before Soul came home. At least this way Soul wasn't as suspicious of her, but she still needed to be careful concerning Blair and unexpected visitors.

The only time Hiro and Maka met up now was maybe once or twice a month to actually do another performance at the White Lily Café and Pub at Jessica's request. Maka had ended up accepting her offer to pay per performance and enjoyed playing a variety of songs for the audience as Emerald and being able to earn some money on the side.

"I hope you two don't mind, but I told my other friends about you and they were wondering if you two could perform at their venues, with pay of course also." Jessica asked one day after the two had finished another show.

"If they pay as well as you do, then sure why not, right Emerald?" Hiro replied back happily.

"Stop being so quick to make decisions Diamond." Maka grumbled. "Where would the performance be at anyways, and what day?" Maka questioned.

"I haven't gotten all the details yet, but I did let them listen to one of your performances that I recorded and I think they also heard about you just by word of mouth. You two are after all you are rising pretty fast in popularity around Death City."

"How can we be that popular if this is really the only place we've performed at?" Maka asked.

"Maybe it's because you two remain so mysterious by hiding your faces and I don't even know your real names, just your stage ones. Anyways, I'll call one of you guys when I get the details." Jessica finished with a smile and headed back over towards her booth.

"Guess it will just be a surprise for now until we get a call back." Hiro said after a few seconds of silence passed.

A few weeks had gone by since that performance, and Hiro hadn't messaged her anything so Maka just assumed Jessica hadn't gotten back to him either.

'There's no point in waiting on Jessica to call us back. We can always perform at other places even if the pay is smaller.' Maka thought as she walked out of class.

~X~

"I really hope I don't have another one of those 'surprise' letters from one of Soul's fan-girls in my locker. I'm getting sick of them and the fact I have no information on them." Maka growled under her breathe as removed one of the notebooks she wanted to place in her locker.

This time to Maka's slight shock there was a girl she didn't recognize standing right in front of her locker.

"Um, can I help you?" Maka asked trying to be polite.

Rachel gave a devilish smile towards Maka. "Why yes you can actually. Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Rachel and I bet you've been wondering whose been putting those anonymous letters in your locker, haven't you?" Rachel questioned with a smirk that became even more mischievous when she saw Maka's eyes start to widen in fury.

"Let me guess, it's been you right?" Maka asked coldly.

"Well not just me, but that's not the point. You didn't heed our warnings from our previous letters so we all are prepared to take action now." Rachel stated cockily.

"Oh really, so what's your big plan now? Are you going to pull another prank on me?" Maka snapped.

"No, but we can spread this very sensational photo of what looks like you and Hiro meeting up secretly all over the school!" Rachel stated gleefully as she watched Maka's face turn from one of anger to unease.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Maka asked tiredly. 'Oh crap, please tell me she didn't see me meet up with Hiro afterschool. The last thing I need is another stressor added to my life. Maka thought in worry.

Unfortunately for Maka, Rachel whipped out a photo from her pocket that showed her exactly what she feared it would be: A picture of her and Hiro nearby her locker from the other day.

'Why didn't I notice her with my Soul Perception? I must have had too much on my mind back then to really think to use it and I really did think nobody was in the hallway at the time.' Maka thought angry at herself for not being more careful.

"Now, I can either make multiple copies of this photo and make sure the first one goes to Soul personally or you can quit hanging around him just like we've asked you before. What's it going to be?" Rachel finished with a gleeful smile.

Maka frowned, feeling a mix of trouble and annoyance. She could just let her give the photo to Soul or post it all over the DWMA, but then she would have to deal with Soul's questioning, distrust, and humiliation, but going through all of that was worth it to not deal with this girl as much, right?

Just as Maka was about to speak up again another voice cut in.

"Resorting to using blackmail now to get your beloved Soul Eater? How sad Rachel." Travis stated, as he walked up to the pair.

"Travis what the hell are you doing here? Mind your own damn business." Rachel hissed towards him, briefly turning her attention away from Maka towards him.

"Well, I just thought since you were going to be spreading rumors and blackmail about people. I thought I would join in." Travis explained happily.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Rachel growled out.

"I have these nice photos I managed to get of you falling and making a fool of yourself last week during Sid's training practice that I figured the whole school could get a laugh out of seeing too." Travis said, as he revealed multiple shots of Rachel tripping and incorrectly wielding a scythe.

"Give me those you jerk!" Rachel screeched out, as she reached for the photos only for Travis to move out of the way.

"Tell you what, how about we trade? You give me that photo of Maka and Hiro and I don't send your panty shots all over the school." Travis finished gently with a smile.

Rachel cursed, looking between both Travis and Maka with a scowl before sighing and handing over the photo.

"This isn't over yet Albarn, me or one of my girls will break you up with Soul Eater eventually and your little bodyguard here won't be able to stop me." Rachel huffed out before stalking off.

"Wow, that was unexpected, but thank you for your help." Maka said once Rachel was out of earshot. 'Though I feel like I could have handled her on my own without this guy's help.' Maka pondered with a small frown.

"It's no problem after all; I love to help any pretty girl in trouble." Travis grinned as he took Maka's hand and kissed it.

Maka blushed slightly and quickly retracted her hand. "How did you know that girl was going to be here anyways?" Maka asked suspiciously. 'For all I know, this could all still be a part of her plan.'

"I'm in the NOT class with her and I heard her posse discussing their plans to get to you earlier." Travis replied back.

"I see, well thanks again for your help. That was really nice of you." Maka said with a smile.

"So nice you would be willing to go out with me?" Travis beamed wrapping an arm around Maka's waist.

Maka felt her face begin to redden again at this guy's flirting. Nobody had ever just asked her out before, especially not a guy like Travis who looked like he would go for women more like Blair, but just as she was about to politely decline his offer a familiar voice interrupted her.

"Why are you so close to Maka?" Soul growled out as he glared at Travis and pushed him away from Maka.

A/N: That's it for Chapter 6, Feedback is always welcomed and as always thanks for reading


	7. Things Haven't Changed At All

Chapter 7: Things haven't changed at all…

"I'll ask you again, what exactly were you doing with Maka?" Soul spat out as he glared at Travis.

"Whoa chill out, geez it's not like I was hurting her, right Maka?" Travis said dusted himself off and sent a smile and wink in Maka's direction.

"Well yeah, Travis wasn't doing anything really Soul there's no need to be so angry." Maka said after a while trying to calm Soul down. 'Even though he was starting to get a little too close for comfort.' Maka thought, cringing a bit at how quick Travis had been to try to get near her.

"Whatever, I needed to talk to you anyways Maka; let's go." Soul stated grouchily before grabbing Maka by hand and practically dragging her away from hallway and out of the school.

Travis remained silent as he watched the two leave, grinning a bit when he noticed Soul throw him one last glare as he walked away.

'He certainly seems to be protective of Maka that's for sure. It won't be easy to get to Maka if he's hanging around her especially knowing that he's a death scythe and Maka herself is wise enough to not fall for all of my tricks.' Travis mused to himself.

Travis peered back down at the photo of Maka and Hiro that he had managed to swipe from Rachel, causing him to grin slyly. 'Still, I suppose I haven't had a true challenge in a long time .Things will definitely start getting interesting from now on." Travis speculated, an abnormal glimmer appearing in his eyes.

~X~

"Soul, please stop gripping my hand so tightly." Maka growled out as she tried to get his attention.

Soul had chosen to ignore Maka's talking and attempts at getting his attention since they had left the DWMA, leaving Maka to start becoming more and more agitated as each minute passed.

Finally Soul came to a stop, allowing Maka to break away from the firm grip he had had on her hand and glare at him in frustration.

"Geez, it's about time you finally stopped! At least let me explain what happened back at the school!" Maka bellowed.

Soul only continued to disregard Maka and go sit down under the shade of a tree. Maka sighed under her breathe and looked around. It seemed like Soul had lead them to Death City's park a few blocks down the road from the school.

Maka pouted, annoyed at Soul's attitude. 'How can I explain what happened back at the school without making it come out wrong?' Maka mulled over her options before eventually finding something okay she could say and sitting down next to Soul.

"Listen, that guy was coming onto to me that's the truth, though it's not like it should really matter to you anyways." Maka said at least trying to get Soul to look at her.

Soul scoffed. "At least answer me this. Has that guy been the reason you've been coming home late sometimes over the past couple of Wednesdays a few weeks ago?" Soul grunted, still not really wanting to look Maka in the eye.

"What? No! I swear I never even knew that guy until today! Now you're making weird assumptions!" Maka stated in annoyance. 'This isn't good though, Soul is still suspicious of me, even though I've been trying to spend more time at home practicing on my sax without meeting up with Hiro.' Maka reflected.

Soul sighed and took a quick glance at her from the side before surprisingly gently tugging her closer to him by wrapping an arm around her waist.

Maka began to feel a familiar heat spread to her cheeks, but she didn't try to move away as she had done so earlier with Travis.

Soul took a moment to take a deep breath before he grumbled out something quickly and quietly.

Maka glanced at him confused. "Um I'm sorry, I didn't catch that can you say that again?" Maka asked.

Soul groaned, but with another sigh turned fully towards and Maka and muttered "I'm sorry I acted so uncool back at that school; I shouldn't have been so quick to anger." He finished trying not let Maka see his own reddening cheeks.

Maka smiled and took a chance by laying her head on his shoulder causing Soul to tense up for a second, before relaxing and pulling her in a bit more tightly.

The two grew comfortably quiet after a moment, just taking in the scenery around them. The weather was still enjoyably cool for a late spring day and not many people were out walking around the park at the moment.

"Hey Soul, weren't you supposed to have some quick meeting with Kid concerning all the death scythes?" Maka said after a few minutes passed.

Soul just shrugged and yawned. "Yeah, but oh well, I can skip a meeting or two it won't be a big deal. I'll just text Kid that I forgot or something."

Maka glowered a bit, lifting her head from his shoulder. "Soul, I told you before to stop doing that. You're supposed to be taking your death scythe responsibilities seriously!"

Soul became slightly agitated at Maka's tone of voice. "Stop nagging me so much Maka! And anyways, why does it matter to you so much if I went to that meeting anyways, did you want to spend more time with that guy from earlier or something?" Soul questioned, eyes narrowing.

Maka moved out of Soul's grip and looked ready to hit him. 'Why does he keep thinking I want to hang out with that guy? I don't even know him unless. Is Soul… no he couldn't be, but I mean from the way he was acting earlier…"Maka pondered and looked at Soul curiously.

Soul gazed at her in confusion. Usually by now he would have been Maka-chopped and yelled at for a comment like that.

"Soul…why does it bother you so much that guy was flirting with me earlier. You weren't jealous, were you?" Maka asked, trying not to let her voice sound a bit too hopeful.

Soul just snorted. "Like any guy would go for a quick-tempered flat chested girl like you." 'Great why did I have to go any say something I didn't really mean again. Now I'm really going to get my head bashed in.' Soul thought wincing slightly when he saw Maka look down allowing her bangs to cover her eyes.

"Oh I get it. You think I'm so unattractive that no guy would ever want to flirt with me, let alone go on a date with me unless they were just joking." Maka mused quietly.

'Shit now she's probably really pissed off!' Soul thought when he suddenly noticed Maka begin to stand up and walk away.

Thinking fast, Soul reached out and grabbed Maka by the wrist before she could run off.

"Listen, I'm sorry Maka you know I didn't mean it you don't need to leave." Soul apologized.

Maka remained muted, still looking in the opposite direction from Soul.

"Come on Maka don't give me the same silent treatment I was giving you earlier. You know I don't mean any of the teasing I do to you."

'But you don't know how much your teasing hurts me Soul. You don't know how frustrating it is knowing that people like to constantly remind me that I'm not the most attractive girl or that you and I have little to no similar interests outside of fighting Kishins and dealing with schoolwork.' Maka thought, feeling a mix of both anger and sadness.

Soul growled when Maka continued to look away from him and decided to forcibly get her attention by turning her back towards him and lifting her chin up. It was then that Soul noticed to his slight shock that Maka was scowling and trying to hold in some still unshed tears.

Soul gave her a weak smile before brushing away her tears. "I'm really sorry Maka; I know I shouldn't taunt you like that." Soul stated this time more sincerely hoping Maka would forgive him.

Maka sighed; trying to look away from Soul's piercing red eyes before giving up and shakily uttering out "If that's the case, then why do you do it so often? I know you're joking for the most part, but it gets tiring after hearing it basically every day."

Soul paused for a moment, unsure how to answer Maka's question without seeming like it was another lie.

'I can't tell her why. She would never believe me or worse she would reject me, but maybe I could at least show her that I really do care about her.' Soul thought before gently cupping her cheek and leaning in.

Maka's eyes widened in surprise as she watched Soul lean in towards her. 'Does Soul want to actually kiss me? Even after all that he just said? Maybe he really does have feelings for me?' Maka thought shyly before nervously leaning in also.

Soul's lips had just barely brushed Maka's when suddenly a loud buzzing noise caused the two of them to jump apart. It took Maka a few seconds to realize someone had just called her as she took out her phone.

'Whoever the hell just called me it had better be important.' Maka thought in irration. As she stepped away from Soul to check the caller ID.

To Maka's further displeasure the caller ID showed it had been Hiro. Since she hadn't heard her phone ringing earlier he had left her a simple text.

Hey Maka, Jessica finally got back to me over that friend of hers who wants us to perform at their event. I think you will be pleasantly surprised to know who it is. Meet me by Deathbucks café for more info.

-Hiro

'If only Hiro could have just waited a few more minutes to call or text me…' Maka yelled to herself.

"So, who was that?" Soul asked interrupting Maka's thoughts. Maka froze as she quickly deleted the message and turned back around to face him.

"Oh, it was the just the library sending me a notice that I had an overdue book." Maka lied once again feeling guilty for having to keep another secret. 'I don't think I've ever been late on any books I turn in, it's hard to come up with an answer on the spot though.'

Soul just grumbled brushing a hand through his snow white hair. "Well I guess you should go turn your book in then or else they'll keep bothering you. I know how depressed and mad you can get when you can't check out books." Soul stated chuckling awkwardly at the broken atmosphere between them.

Maka sighed feeling awkward and embarrassed also. "Yeah I know, I guess you should go back to that meeting Kid had planned before he gets anymore mad at you. I'll see you back at the apartment." Maka said quietly.

"Yeah okay see you later." Soul muttered as he walked back in the direction of the school.

"Damn it, I shouldn't have let Maka look at her phone. I should have tossed it as soon as she took it out of her pocket. At least then I still wouldn't be having these thoughts of wanting to finish that kiss." Soul complained under his breath once he was far enough away from Maka.

Maka glanced back at her phone in annoyance before heading in the opposite direction towards Deathbucks.

'We've crossed the boundary now and blurred the lines between being just friends or a couple. Though maybe I'm looking too much into this and all that just happened was a spur of the moment?' Maka still wasn't too sure.

~X~

"Why do you look like you just crawled out of bed or something; what's with the long face?" Hiro asked when he finally saw Maka walk up to him and take a seat across from him.

Maka just glared at Hiro and rolled her eyes. "I'm not in the mood for your jokes Hiro, just give me the information Jessica sent you before someone sees us." 'I don't want to deal with that issue all over again.' Maka frowned, thinking about today's earlier events.

Hiro scoffed and then pulled out his phone to retrieve the message.

"I think this might be Masquerade's biggest gig yet and I know the pay will be well if this really is the guy." Hiro discussed eagerly.

Maka had to read the message twice just to make sure she had read it correctly.

The message read as followed:

Dear Diamond and Emerald,

Hi you guys, sorry it took me so long to get back to you two, but my friend finally got back to me. I know you might not believe it, but Death the Kid would like you guys to perform at his Death Scythe Gala event happening next Saturday at 8 pm at Gallows Manor. Enclosed is his cell phone number if you want to get back to him or just text me back for more details if you would like to attend.

Sincerely,

Jessica

A/N: That's it for Chapter 7, hope people like it and let me know what they think and as always thanks for reading


	8. Preparations

Chapter 8: Preparations

"It's about time you showed up brat you know some of us have important places they have to be!" Spirit snapped as he watched Soul walk in.

Soul just simply rolled his eyes at Spirit's antics. "Oh I'm sorry; I didn't know going to ChupaCabra's was so damn important." Soul said sarcastically.

Spirit became even more pissed at Soul's tone of voice and stood up prepared to strike him when Kid suddenly cut in with a cough.

"Alright, that's enough now out of you two. Now that all the death scythes are here I can make my announcement. As you all know, I haven't been a Shinigami for that long and I figured the best way for me and everyone to get better acquainted with each other was to hold a gathering at my mansion next Saturday not only to celebrate our accomplishments over the past few months', but also discuss plans for how we can continue to keep peaceful relations on a global level." Kid explained.

"That sounds like a good idea to me, you seem to be handling your new duties nicely Kid. I'm you're your father would be proud." Marie said with a smile.

"I have a question. Are we allowed to bring any guests along with us?" Spirit asked becoming slightly bored at how dragged out the meeting had gotten, especially with the time that had passed with them waiting for Soul to come.

"Well for right now, I just want it to keep it death scythes only with maybe only a few select guests since some of the information we might discuss could be classified." Kid replied back.

Spirit frowned and just sunk further in seat. Everyone else talked casually amongst themselves until Kid finally announced the meeting was over.

"Remember everyone, the event starts at 8 pm, but it would be best to probably arrive by 7:30." Kid called out as everyone departed from the area.

"Oh hold on, Soul I wanted to have a quick word with you." Kid mentioned as he noticed Soul trying to sneak off amongst the crowd.

Soul groaned, but stopped and turned around to face Kid.

"Any particular reason why you were over 30 minutes late to today's meeting? I know I reminded you about it." Kid inquired; slightly annoyed that he had had to prolong the meeting longer than necessary.

"Yeah I'm sorry. There was another matter that came up that I needed to take care of first." Soul grumbled.

Kid arched an eyebrow at Soul's quick answer. "Is it anything that you might want to talk about? We will be working together a lot more from now on after all." Kid reasoned.

Soul didn't reply back immediately, instead he thought back over everything that happened in the past hour and a half that had made him late to the meeting in the first place.

FLASHBACK

'Man I'm glad I got a quick soda from the vending machine before I have to head off to that meeting Kid has planned. He can go on forever when he really gets passionate about a topic.' Soul mused to himself as he turned down the corridor of DWMA's halls when suddenly heard a familiar voice echo down the halls.

'Isn't that Maka's voice?' Soul thought. Confused, he peeked down the hall and sure enough he saw his meister talking with a guy he didn't know.

"Wow that was unexpected, but thank you for the help." Maka spoke towards the guy.

Soul surveyed the scene with a frown. It was odd for Maka to just randomly talk to guys outside of their own group. It wasn't that she wasn't friendly enough to talk to anyone though, but it was still strange. 'What exactly did that guy do that would cause Maka to thank him?'

Whatever this mystery guy had done obviously was important because Maka looked relieved and still slightly tense from what Soul could gather from afar.

Soul continued to eavesdrop on their conversation and crushed the soda can he had been holding a bit in silent displeasure when he heard this guy flirt with Maka and even get her to blush a bit. Maybe they were just being friendly with each other, nothing for him to get annoyed about.

It was finally this guy straight out asking Maka out that pissed Soul off enough to break away from his hiding spot and pull Maka away from the situation.

Soul glared over at the guy before he left. 'I don't know who he thinks he is seeing as he's only a NOT student, but he's up to something and I'm not letting Maka get involved in it, no matter how mad she gets at me for interrupting.' Soul thought angrily to himself.

FLASHBACK ENDS

In retrospect, Soul still had no idea what that guy truly wanted with Maka or even what his name was. And anyways, he had ended up mostly distracted and forgetting about him with the time he had spent with Maka afterwards.

"Soul did you hear me?" Kid questioned trying to pull Soul out of his thoughts.

"Huh? No you'll have to repeat yourself I just have a lot on my mind." Soul stated trying to pay attention now.

Kid smirked. "You've been just as distant as Maka lately it seems. Is something going on between you two?"

Thoughts of their brief kiss immediately invaded Soul's thoughts, but he pushed them away before Kid could take notice of his embarrassment.

Kid just grinned knowingly at his silence before continuing on. "Well, I was just saying you could invite Maka as a guest to the gala if you wanted to."

"What you mean as my date? I thought you wanted to keep this as death scythes only?" Soul stated, ignoring Kid's smug look.

"Even though you technically aren't Maka's weapon anymore, she has helped out the school and has abilities that have proved to be very useful on past missions. Besides, we all know how much you two mean to each other and how much it seems like have some ongoing private affair." Kid asserted.

"Whose is this 'we' have you been hanging out with Black Star too much or something? And what makes you think Maka and I are having some secret relationship?" Soul said trying not to get too angry with his assumption.

"The 'we' would be the rest of Spartoi, and no I've been too busy to hang out with Black Star, and I personally just thought you guys liked to keep it a secret because her Dad likes to go crazy over anything involving her." Kid finished calmly answering Soul's questions.

Soul just sighed. How was he supposed to reply back to that when Kid was semi-right?

"I'll think about it I guess, but Maka may be too busy to go in my opinion." Soul grumbled. 'She's still been keeping something hidden from me. If anything, she's the one with her own secret relationship going on.'

Kid just chuckled. "I wouldn't be so sure if I were you."

~X~

"Hiro, I don't think it would be a good idea for us to go to the Gala, I'm still only a mediocre player when it comes to the sax and I think this is too big of an event that we aren't properly prepared for." Maka reasoned.

"I think you're only saying that because you personally will know some of people there. Trust me, they won't recognize us after all we are going to be addressed as our stage names and be disguised." Hiro coolly explained.

"It's not our disguises I'm worried about. I'm worried about my playing. Even though I feel like I've gotten a bit better from practicing some smooth jazz and classical jazz, I don't want to mess up in front of all those important people!" Maka snapped back.

"Geez, do you always worry this much? Your sax playing is fine and with me on the guitar we will be okay. Plus, we still have a little over a week to prepare for the event. It isn't until next Saturday, remember?" Hiro said.

"I swear sometimes it seems like you care more about the money and popularity." Maka stated with a sigh, rubbing her forehead to prevent a headache from coming.

"So, do you want to agree to this or not? I need to call Kid or at least let Jessica know soon." Hiro asked, ignoring Maka's statement.

"Well I guess it would be nice to play at a new area besides the Pub…" Maka mused.

"Great, I'll call Jessica when I get home! I think you should do some dress shopping and we should at least meet back up on Wednesday again to practice before the event." Hiro said, already thinking ahead.

Maka gazed at him warily. "Why do I need to go out and buy a dress now?"

"This is a formal event. We can't just dress casually like we did for all our other shows." Hiro answered.

'Crap he's right, but I don't really own any dresses that would be appropriate for the event! Guess I'm going to need to get help from an expert.' Maka realized to herself.

~X~

"So Maka, tell me again why you suddenly decided you wanted to go out shopping?" Liz asked mischievously. It was currently Friday afternoon and Maka was hanging out with Liz, Patty, and Tsubaki for a shopping spree that Maka had abruptly suggested after class had ended.

"Um no reason, I just noticed that a lot of my clothes were getting a bit old and worn out and I thought it would be fun to just chill out with you guys." Maka stated nervously.

"What kind of stuff did you want to shop for? Tsubaki asked kindly.

"Err; well actually I didn't really want to change up my clothing style so I was just thinking of shopping at the usual stores I frequent." Maka replied back.

"That's bull and you know it Maka! Since when do you ever want to go shopping anyways? Mostly you like to go to the bookstore and buy novels, not buy clothes you're hiding something, aren't you?" Liz retorted as Patty laughed next to her in agreement.

'Guess there's no use in really trying to hide it.' Maka mused to herself. "Okay, you got me Liz. I actually wanted to go dress shopping and I wanted to get advice from you guys on what would look best on me."

"Oh, well why didn't you say so earlier! I know the perfect dress boutiques that we can go to, but first tell me who's the lucky guy you're getting all dolled up for, it's Soul, right?" Liz questioned with a grin, squealing a bit.

"Ooh sis, you think Soul was the guy Maka was thinking about at lunch the other day?" Patty asked starting to grin and tease Maka also.

Maka blushed and tried to deny Liz and Patty's accusations until luckily Tsubaki spoke up.

'Oh thank goodness Tsubaki will calm Liz and Patty down for sure!' Maka thought in relief trying to hide her flushed face.

"Maka, I think it's sweet that you are finally allowing Soul to see more of your girly side!" Tsubaki stated in approval, happily in support of her friend.

Maka sighed and resisted the urge to roll her eyes. 'Well guess all my friends think I'm going out with Soul now and we aren't even technically dating.' Maka mused internally.

After Maka managed to calm all her friends down, she decided to tell them about what happened the other day and how she was still unsure of the nature of their relationship at the moment.

"What?! I can't believe you two kissed and you didn't tell anyone! Though I am surprised Soul at least had enough courage to ask you out." Liz contemplated after Maka finished her story.

"Soul didn't ask me out yet. I just wanted to buy a dress because well I- um." Maka frowned unsure how to finish the sentence without giving away she needed the dress more for her alter ego to attend Kid's gala than for herself.

"Say no more Maka. You wanted to buy a dress so that you could impress Soul enough with it that he would ask you out and have his eyes only on you for the entire night, am I right?!" Liz stated becoming excited again.

"Uh, yeah I guess that's why." 'I would prefer that Soul not know that it is me when I actually go to the event. I just want him to think I'm some random music Kid picked out to perform. Maka thought.

"Alright well what are we waiting for girls? Let's help Maka get her man!" Liz said pumping a hand in the air.

xXx

The next few hours Maka spent with the girls trying on a variety of outfits. After deliberating and thinking over which one would best go with her mask, Maka was able to narrow it down to three options: A navy blue ball gown with sequins across the bust line, an emerald colored sleeveless gown, and finally a violet colored gown with ruffles along the bottom.

"I think I want to go with the emerald colored one it matches with my eyes after all." Maka stated, coming to a decision.

"Good point and it's not too expensive either." Liz mentioned as she glanced at the price tag.

"Thanks you guys for helping me out today, it means a lot to me!" Maka cheerfully said as she went over to the checkout and purchased the dress.

"No problem Maka just let us know how your date goes!" Liz laughed as Maka pouted a bit.

"So where have you been this whole time?" Soul asked noticing Maka looked exhausted as she walked into the apartment and closed the door.

"I was out shopping with Liz and the others for a dress." Maka replied back tiredly.

'Why does Maka need a dress? Don't tell me Kid already invited her to the Gala! No wait, he wouldn't go behind my back and do that. Unless she bought the dress for a date, but who would she be going out with?' Soul pondered to himself.

"Well I'm going to go set all this stuff down. If you need me I'll be in my room." Maka said, gaining back Soul's attention.

"Wait Maka, I need to ask you something." Soul stated causing Maka to turn back around.

"Yes Soul? Did you need something?" Maka asked, putting the dress over her shoulder to keep it from falling.

Soul frowned, feeling a familiar anxiety and nervousness buildup in pit of his stomach, before he just decided to spit it out:

"Maka, Kid is having a Death Scythe gathering next week at his house; do you want to go with me as my date?"

A/N: That's it for Chapter 8, I probably won't update again until around the 19th or later since I'll be away (I'll probably get more ideas for the story anyways between now and then). But besides that I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far! I always enjoy getting feedback and as always thanks for reading!


	9. No Looking Back

Chapter 9: No Looking Back

"You really want me to be your date for Kid's gala event?" Maka whispered not sure she had even heard him right.

"Well yeah, if you're not busy I mean." Soul grumbled back scratching the hair behind his back nervously.

"I thought Kid was making that meeting only for death scythes though?" Maka asked, looking a bit confused.

"Yeah well, he said I was allowed to bring along a guest and I just figured if you weren't doing anything that night you would want to go out." Soul answered. 'Maka really shouldn't have any plans that night unless it's something I don't know about." 'Soul thought, feeling certain of Maka's usual weekend schedule.

"Ah well, no I'm not going to be busy; you just caught me off guard that's all. I would love to go with you Soul." Maka stated sincerely.

Soul brightened up a bit showing up his sharp toothed grin. "Cool. I'm glad you'll be there with me to keep me company at least. It would be boring having to deal with all those old people alone."

Maka chuckled a bit. "You wouldn't be completely surrounded by old guys stupid. Don't forget that Kid would be there also."

"Yeah, but Kid has a habit of acting just like them sometimes." Soul huffed out before plopping himself back down on the couch to finish watching TV.

Maka just smiled and walked back into her room and closed her door with a light click. As soon as her door closed though, the smile on Maka's face completely dissipated into a frown. Throwing all her shopping bags onto her bed, Maka slid down the edge of her door a mix of apprehension and panic filling her thoughts.

'Damn it, I'm seriously put myself in real trouble now. Even though I'm happy that Soul invited me to Kid's Gala event, how am I supposed to be his date and perform as Emerald at the same time? I can't be two places at once without someone eventually catching on! I guess the only thing I can do now is just tell Hiro that I won't be able to perform.' Maka mused restlessly.

~X~

"What do you mean you don't want to perform anymore at the Gala?! I already told Kid that we would be able to go. We can't just back out on it now." Hiro snapped, pissed at Maka's defensive look.

"Wait, you went and talked to Kid without at least texting or calling me beforehand?" Maka questioned angrily.

"Yeah of course, but don't worry he didn't know it was me. I was wearing my mask and my hair was dyed brown when I talked to him." Hiro replied back.

"Well anyways, you were so quick on wanting to go just because we were going to get paid a lot, but Soul asked me to go with him as his date and I can't be two places at once you know!" Maka complained with a huff.

Hiro calmed down a bit at Maka's explanation. "Oh, I see now. I was afraid something like this was going to possibly happen. I guess we'll have to go with Plan B, luckily I got Jessica to help me out a bit."

Maka's eyes narrowed at how secretive Hiro was being. "What are you talking about now? What's this Plan B you have in mind?"

"Well I figured there was a chance Soul might consider asking you go with him as your date. So I thought ahead and asked Jessica to let you borrow one of her gowns. Luckily you guys both are kind of flat and of the same height so it should fit you perfectly." Hiro mused to himself as he walked into his closet and pulled out a midnight blue evening gown.

Maka growled a bit at Hiro's 'flat' comment, but couldn't help but admire how beautiful the gown truly looked once he brought it out. The gown had sequins across the bottom and bust line of the dress that really made it stand out. It even came with a matching blue necklace that shined in the light of the room.

"Go ahead and try it on to make sure it fits properly." Hiro stated as he handed the dress over to Maka.

Maka sighed, but reluctantly went with it into the bathroom and tried it on. A few minutes later Maka came back out and gave a twirl.

Hiro wolf whistled with a laugh. "Not half-bad. The main point is that at least it fits you."

Maka grimaced a bit feeling disgusted at Hiro's actions and quickly walked back inside the bathroom to change back into her school uniform.

"Now please properly explain this plan B you have in mind because I don't think there's any way I'm going to be able to perform as Emerald and still be Soul's date without everything being exposed." Maka grumbled.

"It's quite simple really. Kid told me that we wouldn't be performing until the end of the event. So you can just start off the night by hanging out with Soul and mingling with the other guests and when I give you the signal to meet up with me, you can just change into this gown and perform." Hiro explained.

"That plan is stupid. Don't you think Soul is going to wonder why all of a sudden I just disappeared from the area and suddenly just came back as soon as the performance is over?" Maka exclaimed, annoyed at Hiro didn't weigh all the possible outcomes.

"You don't think you'll be able to find some way to excuse yourself without coming off as too suspicious? I mean you've already seemed to be doing a pretty good job of lying to him; I'm sure you can think of something." Hiro stated in boredom.

Maka sighed. "He didn't have to remind me that I've been lying to him. It's already been leaving a sick feeling in my stomach." Maka thought sadly.

"Anyways, I'll hold onto that Jessica's gown and your sax. You can just wear that emerald colored gown that you bought to the party. I'll give you a signal when it will be time for us to perform." Hiro finished, wanting to be done with the topic now and stop arguing.

Maka just nodded her head, still unsatisfied with Hiro's explanation as the two went back to practicing over their songs that they would play for the rest of the afternoon. They still had 3 days left of practice they could get in before the big day.

~X~

"Maka hurry up, I don't want to be lectured again for being late!" Soul called out from the living room as he glanced at his watch. It was currently 7:15 pm on the night of big Gala event.

"Alright, I'm coming geez. It's not like you're in that big of a hurry to go there!" Maka retorted as she opened her door and revealed herself.

Soul's eyes widened as he took in Maka's appearance. Maka was currently dressed in the sleeveless jade colored gown she had bought last week with the girls with matching emerald earrings and silver low heeled shoes. Maka had even curled her hair and tied it back with a green bow to finish things off.

Maka blushed lightly under Soul's gaze. "So do I look okay or is it too much you think?" Maka asked timidly.

Soul broke off his stare and blushed. "No you look fine, but there is one thing that you're still missing."

Maka looked confused and glanced over her outfit. "What am I missing? I think I have everything unless you are talking about my purse?" Maka asked not sure what Soul was talking about. 'I hope Hiro still has all the stuff we need for performing though, including my mask.'

Soul shook his head at Maka and walked closer and grabbed her hand. "No, it's not that. I just wanted to give you this to really complete your outfit." Soul answered as he placed a corsage laced with red roses onto her wrist.

Maka eyed the corsage in awe. "Oh wow, you didn't have to do this, but I love it!" Maka said appreciatively.

Soul grinned at Maka's cheerfulness. "It was no problem Maka after all, now we are both kind of matching with each other in a way." Soul said as he pointed back at himself. Soul was wearing a black suit and pants with a red undershirt that was similar to the same pinstriped suit he wore in the Black Blood Room.

Maka squeezed Soul's hand causing Soul to look back up at her.

"Thanks for inviting me to come with you Soul." Maka stated gently.

Soul squeezed her hand back gazing back into her eyes. "There isn't anyone else I would rather go with it." He replied back.

For a while Soul and Maka just admired each other quietly until Blair suddenly interrupted them.

"Don't you guys have somewhere you were supposed to be? Unless you two were planning to just stay here and get to know each other better?" Blair purred from behind them as she glanced over at the clock.

Maka broke out her gazing at the sound of Blair's voice and dragged Soul by the hand to head out the door.

"Crap Soul now we are really going to be late! Blair make sure to lock the doors behind us!" Maka cried as the two ran off.

~X~

"Soul I'm glad you could actually make it on time and I see you brought Maka along also." Kid stated as he watched Soul and Maka walk up holding hands.

Soul and Maka blushed as Kid gave them both a knowing grin until Spirit approached them from the side.

"Hey, I don't know why Maka decided to let you be her date, but just consider yourself lucky because I'm still going to have my eyes on you!" He yelled out loudly causing some of the guests to look his way in confusion.

"Papa go away! Nobody was even talking to you!" Maka snapped coldly feeling embarrassed by how much of a scene he was causing.

Spirit saddened and pouted a bit under Maka's scrutiny before reluctantly walking off to talk with some of the other guests coming in.

Maka just sighed and shook her head until she overheard something Kid was saying. She turned her head towards him and realized that he was talking on the phone with somebody.

"Yes everything is set up for you and Emerald. I'm really glad you two could play for us on such short notice. I even set up a table for you two sit at. Yes all of that will be handled appropriately after the event is over." Kid mumbled into his phone.

Maka's eyes widened as she felt a familiar sense of panic. 'There's no doubt about it that must be Hiro on the other end of the line.' Maka thought numbly.

"Come on Maka, let's stop blocking the entryway." Soul stated, pulling Maka slightly out of the way.

The party started out mostly uneventful with Kid beginning the evening off by introducing each death scythe and going over what goals he hoped to accomplish for the year. Maka was trying her best to pay attention, but she couldn't help she still remain on edge especially when she noticed Hiro disguised as Diamond slip in amongst the crowd and take a seat at the table reserved for them.

"Hey Maka are you feeling all right? You haven't really said a word since this party started." Soul asked in a whisper, nudging Maka's shoulder a bit.

"Yeah I'm fine I just have a slight headache. I'm just going to get a glass of water." Maka whispered back as she stood up from her seat and walked over to the punch bowl.

Maka took a deep breath in as she slowly sipped her water. 'I need to just relax. Everything is going to be fine, but I really need to come up with some good excuse quick before its time.' Maka contemplated.

As Maka turned back around to head to her seat, a sudden large cracking and popping sound filled the air that caused everyone to pause what they were doing and look around.

'What the heck was that?' Maka thought also glancing around suspiciously, but before she could properly scout the area a large booming sound rang out again and the power went completely out.

Author's Note: That's it for Chapter 9! Feedback is always welcomed and as always thanks for reading!


	10. Targeted

Chapter 10: Targeted

"What's going on, I can't even see my hand in front of my face!" One woman cried out in panic as everyone began to shuffle around the room in slight chaos.

Maka bit her lip as she set her cup down and tried to concentrate. While most people in the room had remained calm and just took out their cellphones in order to get some form of light in the blackout, others had become restless and were either pacing around back and forth or trying to run back outside before anything else happened.

Somewhere amidst all the noise everyone was making Maka was able to make out Kid's voice speaking again.

"Everyone, please just remain calm. I'm sure it was just a short circuit that occurred. The backup generator should be up and running any minute now." Kid spoke out smoothly.

'I don't think this was the cause of some short circuit. Someone must have known Kid was having this Gala event tonight and that there would be many important guests here. I'm sure they must be trying to go after Kid or some other prominent member of the DWMA.' Maka thought, still trying to block out all the sounds and focus.

Maka sighed after a few seconds and decided she needed to prioritize her thoughts now.

'I need to get back to my table where Soul is. I'm sure he's probably wondering why I haven't gotten back to him by now even with all this darkness surrounding us.' Maka mused.

Just as Maka was about to head back in the direction of her table she suddenly picked up on the soul of a relatively strong person she didn't recognize running off towards Kid's garden in the back.

Even though Maka didn't know every last guest Kid had invited to the party, she could at least recognize with her soul perception the souls of the more powerful guests amongst the crowd like Dr. Stein for example.

'So that must mean this person must be the assailant that started this blackout in the first place. The fact that they're now heading towards Kid's garden might mean they'll try to pull another stunt that will be way worse than a blackout.' Maka reasoned and without a second thought chased after them.

~X~

In retrospect, Maka wasn't sure why she hadn't given more thought to the fact she couldn't really run fast or particularly run at all while still wearing a dress with heels on, but it seemed like her foe wasn't really trying to escape her at all, in fact it seemed more like they were waiting for her to catch up to them.

Finally her opponent came to a stop, but still remained with their back towards Maka, allowing Maka to get a better look at them.

It seemed like whoever this was they were going for the mysterious look because all Maka could make out was that they were wearing a black overcoat with a matching black wool cap to cover their hair and most of their face.

"So, can I assume that you're the one who caused the power outage at Kid's party earlier?" Maka asked.

Her opponent only chuckled a bit. "I perhaps might have had a role in that, but I'm more curious to know what are you going to do about it?"

From what Maka gathered from just know hearing this person's voice it definitely seemed like it belonged to someone masculine.

Maka's eyes narrowed at the guy's question, narrowing her eyes to focus on him and their surroundings.

"What's that supposed to mean? You don't think I can take you on?" Maka growled out.

The guy's chuckling turned into full blown laughter. "I've faced many opponents over the years, but none of them ever fought me in a dress and high heels. Besides, can you really fight me weaponless?" He managed to say in between pauses of laughing.

Swiftly the guy's sniggering suddenly stopped and he turned around to face Maka.

"Well, you're brave I'll give you that, but I think it's time now I really put those skills everyone is always saying about you to the test." He said smirking as he turned his left arm into a sickle.

'Just like I assumed he's not an ordinary person he has weapons abilities.' Maka thought quickly to herself, dodging one his attacks that had been heading for her stomach.

For a few minutes this went on with Maka either dodging or sliding out of the way of his slashing movements, before landing a jab on his face.

The man sneered and spat away the blood from his bleeding lip. "Oh, you'll have to do better than Maka."

'Damn it how is he moving so fast? Even when I managed to land that one punch on his face, it did nothing to slow him down really.' Maka thought, beginning to feel out of breathe.

"I can see you're getting tired Maka. You can't dodge my attacks forever, especially not in the clothes you're wearing right now." He said before suddenly making the blade of sickle arm larger and rushing for Maka again.

Luckily, Maka was able to move out of the way quickly enough to only receive the blunt end of his sickle grazing slightly against her shoulder.

'Shit, he actually got me that time. I can't keep being on the defensive. I need to find some type of object I can use as weapon." Maka thought taking a brief glance around.

Unfortunately Maka didn't really see anything she could really use properly to attack and defend herself with that he wouldn't be able to slash through.

Maka gripped her injured shoulder in frustration. Blood was starting to leak from the small gash she had gotten earlier drawing a smirk onto her enemy's face.

"Well, is that really the best you got Maka Albarn? I truly expected more from someone known as one of DWMA best students, both academically and athletically." The guy sneered out, as he walked closer to her.

Maka remained silent, but stepped back as she watched him carefully to assess his next move.

"Really, I'm sure you can be a stronger opponent than this. Maybe it's because you don't have that scythe of yours with you, huh? Now that he's a death scythe he doesn't need you anymore. It could be why you're so weak right now." The guy continued on. grinning at the reaction he was getting from Maka.

Maka cracked her knuckles prepared to punch that stupid grin off this guy's face even it if meant risking a more serious injury potentially. 'I'm not going to stand for any more people mocking me like this. Not Soul's fangirls or this guy!'

"You bastard I'll show you who's weak!" Maka snapped pulling back her fist until a noise startled the both of them. Both of them stopped their fighting and turned their attention back towards the Manor.

It seemed like Kid had been right about getting the power back quickly enough, because the lights were back on and everyone seemed to have calmed down.

The man placed a hand on Maka's shoulder causing Maka to quickly focus back on him and prepare to finish punching him.

"Relax; I'm done fighting you for now." To prove his point the he turned his sickle arm back to its original form and smoothed out his coat.

"So what was your point in coming here then? Were you trying to gather information on Kid just because he is the new Shinigami or attack one of the death scythes in surprise?" Maka asked bitterly.

"No, I had no desire to go after any death scythe or even Kid. My intentions tonight were to get to you and I did."

'Me? What the hell could this guy want with me?' Maka's facial expression must have shown puzzlement because he spoke up again.

"You really don't remember me do you? And to think I helped you out with those crazy fan-girls too." He said making a pout.

"Fan-girls? Wait a minute; don't tell me you were that guy from before that stopped that one girl." Maka questioned in surprise.

"Yup and you never did get my name before that weapon of yours dragged you off. My name is Travis and I'm sure you'll be seeing me again." Travis stated finally revealing his face by taking off his cover.

"So what do you want with me? Why would you just randomly attack me at this party?" Maka asked, quickly becoming pissed that this all was for nothing except to mess with her.

Travis smiled oddly making Maka frustrated when he wouldn't automatically give her an answer.

"Well guess what I still have that photo of you and Hiro that Rachel took. Don't worry I'm not going to go spreading it all over the school like she wanted to, but I do have a proposition in mind." Travis explained coolly.

"Hell no, I'm done with making secretive agreements with people! It's bad enough having this one on my hands." Maka said beginning to walk away.

"You didn't even let me say it. It's not like my agreement would be causing you any harm like whatever you're doing with Hiro. In fact, I'm willing to bet my deal is even better than the one you got from Hiro." Travis said in amusement.

"I really don't give a crap." Maka said starting to get further away at this point.

"Alright, I figured you were going to be stubborn, but that's why I like you so much." Travis stated catching up to Maka so fast and forcefully grabbing her back by her injured shoulder.

"What do you want with me?" Maka managed to hiss out as she tried to break out of his grip to no avail.

"Nothing much really, but I want you to be my meister. When he noticed Maka's eyes widen in horror and confusion he added on.

"Now you don't have to answer me right this second, but I do expect an answer by next week or I really may just do something about that photo I still have of you and Hiro." Travis finished smoothly.

Maka rolled her eyes. "That's still blackmailing me. You're no better than Rachel and her damn posse who still bug me with their dumb threats. Besides, you're in the NOT class you should find a meister in that class."

Travis only laughed lightly. "Why be with a student from the NOT class when I could be with one of the best students in the entire school?" Travis reasoned.

Maka blushed slightly at the compliment, but still remained angry. "I'm not going to be your partner no matter how good you might be. I'm still Soul's meister."

Travis snorted in disagreement. "Actually that's where you're wrong. You used to be Soul's meister, but know he's Kid's weapon. Not only can I get Rachel and her friends off your back, I can help you with stuff that maybe Hiro isn't helping you with already."

Maka arched an eyebrow. "How do you even know Hiro is helping me with anything?" 'And why would I even want his help when this is way of trying to get my attention?!'

"Well it's kind of obvious, I mean the fact that you don't want any of your friends knowing you're meeting up with him seems like you two must have some sort of agreement going on."

"Anyways, I'll let you think it over before I need to make any other actions." Travis stated, letting her go and walking away before Maka could retort.

'I'm sure Maka found me so fast by using her Soul Perception ability that I've heard some of the faculty mention before. I still need to collect more research on her that Soul Eater before I make any other moves.'

~X~

Maka tried to give chase to Travis, but as soon as he disappeared through some bushes, Maka was able to find no trace of him even with her Soul perception.

Sighing, Maka sluggishly walked back towards the manor feeling defeated.

'How am I supposed to explain my appearance? My dress is all tattered up and I still have this wound on my shoulder too.' Maka thought anxiously, getting a brief glance of herself in one of Kid's outdoor ponds.

As Maka approached the main hallway that would lead back to the party, a voice stopped her.

"There you are; geez I've been looking all over for you!" A voice snapped from behind Maka.

Maka took a brief glance behind her and realized that it was Hiro to her disappointment. 'It just had to be Hiro who would find me looking like this, but I guess that's better than Soul.' Maka thought in exhaustion.

Hiro looked at her up and down. "What the hell happened to you? Did you get into some fight? Well, it doesn't matter; you can just change into the dress Jessica let you borrow. It's time for us to perform." Hiro said handing Maka her sax, dress, and mask.

"Wait, what are you talking about; what about Kid's speech and stuff. Doesn't he still need to finish doing that first?" Maka questioned.

"While you were gone, Kid finished the gist of basically what he called this whole meeting for and because of that weird power outage earlier he wanted to calm everyone's nerves by having us perform to finish off the night. I've been trying to look for you for the past 30 minutes now." Hiro explained in a rush before pushing her towards a bathroom.

"Now hurry up and get changed and cover up those scratches and stuff with some make-up and concealer!"

Maka frowned gazing over her sax and dress before turning her attention back towards the mirror. From the way Hiro spoke, it seemed like everyone was waiting on her now to make an appearance and she barely had any time to gather her thoughts together.

Maka groaned quietly under her breath as she quickly got out of her jade colored dress and into the dark blue gown. After she finished applying proper first aid (disinfectant and a small band aid she had found in the bottom cabinet would have to suffice for now to cover her main wound) and concealer to her scratches, Maka applied the finishing touches to her hair and face and put on her emerald mask.

'Perhaps performing will help take my mind off everything that's been happening tonight.' Maka mused to herself as she walked back out of the bathroom and found Hiro at the end of the hallway.

~X~

"Thank you everyone for waiting patiently. I'm sorry there have been so many pauses in tonight's party, but to end things on a high note, I've brought the group Masquerade here to perform. Let's give them a big round of applause!" Kid stated cheerfully as he let Hiro and Maka take the stage.

Soul briefly glanced at them from the audience, looking agitated and distracted as he went back to staring at his phone. Ever since the power outage had occurred, no one seemed to be able to find Maka or even noticed that she was gone. She had left her phone in her purse so he had no way of contacting her either.

Soul eyed Diamond and Emerald warily as they started. Diamond started things off slowly with his guitar with Emerald matching his tune as the song continued on. They even included the sound of a drummer playing along as their background noise with the help of an audio CD.

Soul glanced around, the whole audience seemed mesmerized with their playing and even Soul had to admit they were pretty good duet.

'Still, I've heard better in the past, they're not playing all the notes at the highest level some of them could be played at.'

When the song was over, everyone applauded the duo cheerfully with Diamond even showing off a bit by doing a mini encore. Soul looked back over at Emerald who seemed dazed and was staring quietly down at her sax.

'It looks like she really doesn't want to be here right now since she isn't even looking at the audience. Odd, I would think she would just as happy as Diamond would be.' Soul thought watching her for a second longer before focusing back on his main concern: finding where Maka went.

Maka peeked back up when she noticed Soul finally wasn't staring at her anymore.

'Thank goodness he stopped looking my way. I don't want him to make any connections between Emerald and Maka." Maka thought, sighing a bit in relief.

~X~

"You two are welcome to mingle with the guests for a bit before leaving out or enjoy some food. And thanks again for performing on such short notice." Kid stated, as he shook both Diamond and Emerald's hands.

"You are quite welcome and don't mind if I do help myself to some food." Diamond chuckled, heading over to the buffet table.

Maka groaned at Hiro's behavior. 'Unlike me, he's not in a rush to go anywhere.' What she really needed to do now was hurry and change back into her emerald dress before more people really noticed she was missing.

Maka squeezed her way through the crowds and politely thanked those who stated that they appreciated her performance until she made it back into the hallway.

"Wait your telling me you can't find my where my precious Maka has gone!" Spirit cried in shock, shaking his shoulders roughly until Soul pushed him off.

"Would you calm down already, ugh. I'm sure she's around here somewhere, she was by the punch bowl when the blackout happened, but I haven't seen her since then so I was just wondering if you had seen her." Soul stated grouchily.

"Maybe Maka went home because she didn't want to deal with you anymore." Spirit retorted back with a snort.

Maka watched the two of them argue and quietly slipped down the hallway into a corner where they wouldn't see her. 'I'm surprised they didn't notice me when I first walked out, it's a good thing their too caught up in their own conversation. Maka thought, feeling a bit more that maybe this night wasn't going to end too badly.

"Anyways, I've been wondering lately what your relationship with Maka is? Do you like her or something; is that why you asked her to be your date?" Spirit questioned glancing down at Soul suspiciously.

Maka could feel her face start to flush beneath her mask. 'Stupid papa, don't ask embarrassing questions like that! I told you we were just friends!" Maka thought, almost wanting to break up their argument herself.

Instead to Maka and even Spirit's surprise Soul replied back to Spirit's question without hesitation.

"And what if I do like Maka that way, what exactly would you do about it?" Soul asked coolly.

Maka froze and before she could even think to cover her mouth, let out a loud gasp that unluckily caused both Spirit and Soul to look in her direction.

Author's Note: That's it for Chapter 10, feedback is always appreciated and welcomed and as always thanks for reading.


	11. School Rumors

Chapter 11: School Rumors

"You just heard that noise also, right?" Spirit questioned to Soul as he turned and looked in the general direction of where Maka was hiding.

"Yeah I heard it alright. Whoever you are you rather as well come out now before we come over to you." Soul sneered, angry that someone had been eavesdropping on their conversation this whole time.

'Oh crap crap crap! I'm completely screwed this time! There's nowhere for me to run too either! I'm going to have face not only Soul, but now Papa also! I need to think of something fast that will cause the two of them not to be so suspicious of me.' Maka thought hurriedly to herself.

An idea popped into Maka's head, but she frowned at the thought of having to do it. "I always promised myself I would never act all cutesy and flirtatious like Soul's fan-girls, but if that's what it takes to throw them off, I need to pull off the best acting skills I can do now.' Maka thought, internally cursing herself for how she was about to behave.

"So, are you going to come out of your hiding spot or are we going to have to force you out?" Soul asked becoming impatient with how quiet their intruder was being.

Maka stood up and looked over at both Spirit and Soul and quietly sighed.

"No, please don't attack me! I'm sorry I really didn't mean to interrupt your conversation! I got lost wandering around this big mansion." Maka cried out, putting on the cutesiest facial expression she could think of.

Spirit looked at her carefully in confusion. "Aren't you Emerald? The girl who was performing earlier with that other guy, what are you doing out here?" He asked.

"Yes I am her. The dance floor was getting a bit stuffy so I just wanted to come outside to get some fresh air and take a look around and explore the Manor, but I got a bit lost this place is so big after all like I was saying." Maka answered sweetly twirling her fingers in her hair with a silly grin.

"Oh! Well why didn't you speak up earlier! I can give you the grand tour of the mansion if you would like!" Spirit stated excitedly winking at Maka flirtatiously as he put a hand on her shoulder.

Maka forced herself to resist gagging and slapping her Father off the balcony by replying back to his advances shyly. 'Is he really coming on to me?! How old does he think I am?'

"Well, I don't want to be any trouble towards you! I can't believe a death scythe like you would want to help me out anyways!" Maka stated bashfully.

"It's no problem at all, right Soul?" Spirit asked turning his attention back to Soul.

Soul just scoffed and rolled his eyes. Was this honestly how Spirit picked up women all the time?

"I could care less what you two go do. I'm going to go find Maka before something bad happens to her." Soul grumbled before he headed back inside.

"Well, who needs him anyways so want to start the tour now Emerald?" Spirit asked only to find Emerald had disappeared also and he was now talking to nobody.

"What the? Where did she go? That stupid brat must have made her run off." Spirit huffed quietly to himself.

~X~

"Ugh I think I just threw up a bit in my mouth from having to do that performance!" Maka groaned to herself as she splashed water on her face to calm herself down.

'I'm just really lucky Papa looked away from me for those few seconds so I could run off and get changed again, I really am having too many close calls these days." Maka thought with a sigh as she finished wiping off her make-up and taking out the extensions in her hair. Hiro had told her to simply just leave all the items in the bathroom and he would pick them up before he left the party.

"The worst part is that my emerald dress is still ruined and I still have this injury." Maka stated quietly as she took off the bandage to check if it was still bleeding.

The bleeding had stopped for the most part, but dried blood still remained around the wound and from past experience Maka could tell a small bruise would probably form around the site soon also.

'Well time to find Soul and face probably another argument.' Maka thought unhappily, as she tried to pick Soul out amongst the guests.

"Oh there you are Maka. You know Soul has been wondering where you have been for the past few hours." Kid stated as he walked up to her.

"Ah yeah I know, actually it's a bit of a long story really do you know where he is?" Maka asked, already dreading his reaction.

Kid just stared at her for a second before pointing a finger right behind her causing Maka to freeze up.

"Please tell me you weren't just here this whole time talking to Kid." Soul questioned, keeping his anger in check for now.

"No, I swear I wasn't really actually I-"but before Maka could finish giving her explanation Soul dragged her by the hand into a more secluded area to talk.

Soul looked at her up and down. "What the hell happened to you? Ever since the blackout happened, nobody knew where you went and then all of a sudden you just appear again talking all happily with Kid as if nothing occurred." Soul inquired.

Maka frowned becoming just as furious. "First of all if you would just let me explain myself you would know I just came back into the party. And no, I was not just talking all 'happily' with Kid I was asking him where you were!" Maka explained, growing just as irritated as he was.

"Well then where were you then? What happened during the blackout that caused you to vanish all of a sudden?" Soul asked still scowling.

"When the blackout occurred I figured somebody might have been going after Kid or another one of the other death scythes and when I used my Soul perception I felt the presence of a strong soul I didn't recognize. I gave chase after them to stop them from doing something even worse." Maka explained.

"Okay and then what?" Soul asked calming down a bit at she cleared things over.

Maka sighed feeling a bit ashamed at having to tell the next part, but went on.

"Well I caught up to him and we fought a bit, but then he just decided to stop and I couldn't properly go after him because he injured me and I was exhausted." Maka finished deciding to leave out the part where Travis had asked her to become his meister and the fact that he actually had been going after her and nobody else.

Soul studied her face carefully to see if she was lying, but could tell Maka was telling the truth for the most part with her wavelength not as particularly jumpy as it had been in the past.

Soul sighed and just shook his head. "Why did you try and fight him weaponless? It's a good thing at least that you weren't hurt that badly." Soul stated as he glanced at the wound on Maka's shoulder.

"Stop trying to fight battles solo. You know even though I work with Kid now I still consider you to be my meister, right?" Soul stated as he pulled Maka into a hug.

Maka blushed at the sudden affection and nodded her head, but her thoughts still remained clouded by what Travis had told her. 'Well now that he's a death scythe, he really doesn't need you anymore. It could be why you're so weak right now. I want you to be my meister I'll give you a week to think about it before I really consider spreading that photo of you and Hiro.'

Maka sighed, hugging Soul back hesitantly. 'Maybe Travis is right. I haven't just gotten physically weaker. I've gotten emotionally weaker too.'

~X~

The rest of the night was calm and Maka simply wished to go home and sleep the rest of the weekend away until school started again on Monday, but to Maka's dismay the events that happened during the weekend made their way over to class as well.

"Did you hear about how Kid was able to get Masquerade to perform at his death scythe gala? I heard they were pretty good!" One student whispered to another.

"Yeah, I heard that there was some power outage thing, but that they still played as if nothing bad had happened!" Another student muttered back.

"Do you think they are going to add any other members to their group? I heard Emerald left as soon as they finished performing. They both are so mysterious; I've only heard them play a few times at the one fancy pub." One girl exclaimed dreamily.

"No, I doubt they will add another member. I've heard some rumors that Diamond and Emerald are a couple and they want to keep it as a duet without adding other members." Another girl answered.

Maka groaned trying to tune out what her classmates were saying. 'Where the hell did they get the idea that Hiro and I are a couple?! I didn't think we were popular enough to have the paparazzi or someone following after us .Somebody must be spreading that crap around all of the school." Maka thought in annoyance when Liz suddenly plopped down in the seat next to her.

"So Maka you never told us, but how was your date with Soul the other night?" Liz asked sneakily.

"What date? You don't mean to the Gala, right? I'm not sure I would consider that really a date." Maka whispered back trying not to be too loud since Soul was just sitting next to her sleeping in class as usual.

"Oh Maka, there's no need to be modest. Kid told me Soul dragged you off into a dark corner and when you two came out you were blushing." Liz stated grinning with she saw Maka flush.

Maka huffed. 'Did Kid also tell you the only reason Soul dragged me away in the first place was just to question me why I suddenly ran off for like 2 hours?' Maka thought, trying to ignore Liz's teasing.

"We really didn't do anything Liz and our relationship is pretty much the same, honest." Maka eventually said.

"Hmm well if you say so, but I'm watching you two just in case you have some secret affair going on I don't know about." Liz replied back before getting back up to head to her seat.

Maka just shook her head before she noticed Hiro out of the corner of her eye looking exhausted. It seemed like he just came from working out again in the gym.

'I told him not to overdo it at school or else more people are going to get suspicious. It's already odd enough that some girls want to date him now, but I'm pretty sure Black Star and Ox aren't sure how he got so much stronger in just a few months.'

Just to confirm Maka's thoughts, Maka noticed Black Star also looking in the direction of Hiro annoyed.

"What are you giving the stink eye to Hiro for?" Maka asked.

Black Star only scoffed. "That ass thinks he's so great just because he's all of a sudden gotten stronger over the past months. I'm sure he must be taking steroids or some type of drugs, at least that's what Ox says he's doing."

Maka laughed a bit. "Really, I bet Ox is only saying that because he doesn't like the fact that Kim has been paying attention to him and you probably don't like it just because you want everyone to focus on you all the time."

Black Star looked insulted at that. "People should focus on me I'm a God after all and anyways, I tried to ask him how he suddenly got so good, but he wouldn't tell me. He just said he did morning runs and drank protein shakes."

"That sounds believable to me." Maka mused. 'I'm glad that he left out the part of actually looking at your work out videos for advice.'

"Well, it doesn't to me. I may not be as smart as you or Kid, but I know when someone is lying and I think someone's been helping Hiro get better. The question is who would waste their time trying to help that loser?" Black Star said.

Maka felt a bit uneasy and chose not to answer him, turning back around to look over her notes. 'Hiro may not have the best personality to be around, but at least he's helped me get better at playing and understanding music.'

~X~

"Alright I'm going to start roll call now. Raise your hand when I call your name." Sid said aloud, as he got ready for the afternoon NOT class.

"Rachel Anderson." Sid called Rachel raised one hand while still gazing at her manicured nails.

"Tsugumi Harudori." Tsugumi raised her hand cheerfully.

"Anya Hepburn." Anya smiled and raised her hand.

"Travis Hutchinson." Sid looked up from the list of names and looked around when he saw that nobody was raising their hand.

"Okay, has anyone seen Travis? He's been coming to class late every day for this past few days." Sid asked annoyed.

"I think I saw him at the library earlier he looked like he was really into whatever he was reading." Tsugumi managed to speak up before the doors to the class opened and Travis sauntered in.

"Oh there you are Travis, how nice of you to finally join us. If you keep coming in late I'll have to deduct points from your final grade. No matter how good you are on the field, coming to class on time is just as important." Sid spoke, as he watched Travis take a seat.

"Yes, I know. I'm sorry I just lost track of time." He replied back as he took out his notebook. 'Though honestly I don't give a damn if you fail me or not. What was really important was that I was able to get those files on both Soul Eater and Maka Albarn before anybody noticed me.' Travis thought hiding a grin beneath the palm of his hand.

The rest of the class went by slowly and Travis had to resist the urge to just fall asleep or just doodle in his notebook when he suddenly heard whispering behind him.

'Well I only know one group of girls who like to chatter like that.' Travis mused to himself as he took a side glance behind him.

"So Rachel, we haven't really come up with any new plans in order to get Maka away from Soul and none of our taunting or teasing is doing much." Kate whispered amongst their group.

"You're right, I was thinking we should try and embarrass her or something to that effect while she is in class in front of everyone, but I'm pretty sure since it's the EAT class they would stop us before we could do anything." Nancy stated quietly.

"Girls, we can't just rush into any plan we come up with it. We need to wait for the right opportunity to truly hit Maka's weaknesses." Rachel responded to all of them.

"I'm getting tired of just sitting and waiting. The longer we wait it out the closer Soul and Maka may be getting towards becoming a couple!" Megan whispered loudly.

"You ladies really need to learn how to whisper properly." Travis stated, catching the attention of all four girls.

"What the hell do you want? I don't want you ruining our plans again just because you have some type of crush on that nerd." Rachel sneered.

"Oh well, I couldn't help but overhear you guys still needed help getting to Maka, but if you're going to be that way…" Travis ended with a sigh.

"Damn right we don't need your help! You already messed up our plans once come on girls let's go. Class is already over." Kate snapped with Megan and Nancy trailing after her.

Rachel stayed behind though and arched an eyebrow at Travis's statement.

"Give me one good reason why I should believe that you would actually be wiling help us?" Rachel asked testily.

"It's clear that you like Soul and I like Maka so wouldn't it be better that instead of fighting each other, we help each other out?" Travis asked.

Rachel thought this over for a minute before she smiled wickedly. "Okay, what did you have in mind?"

Travis grinned deviously. 'She is making this way too easy. When this is all done Maka is definitely going to agree to my terms.' "Come with me. Since your friends don't want to be a part of this plan guess you'll just have Soul all to yourself."

Rachel beamed at that. "Well that was my plan from the beginning anyways. It's not like I wanted to share Soul."

~X~

By the time it was Friday, Maka was exhausted from all the training she had done for school and as Emerald. After the all the events that had happened at Gala, Maka had become a little distracted during her usual practice with Hiro, but Hiro had managed to remind her to focus and try playing more advanced pieces with Maka also reminding Hiro not just to work on his upper body strength, but also work on building up his legs as well.

Hiro had even suggested to Maka that she stop just focusing on classical and jazz music for the saxophone and look at other genres such as Rock music and the Blues.

"A good musician can use their instrument to play all types of genres not just only one or two." Maka mumbled under her breathe repeating what Hiro had told her.

Maka yawned and stretched as she waited by her locker for Soul to come so they could walk home together. 'Geez where is he? I usually don't walk home with him on Fridays, but he was the one who made the suggestion and now he's late." Maka thought grouchily staring at her watch.

"Hey Maka did you have enough time to think about my proposal?" Travis asked, sneaking up on her with a snicker.

Maka huffed in frustration, angry that Soul was late and that she was now being bothered by Travis. "No I haven't Travis and you know the answer will still be no even if I gave it actual consideration."

Travis just smirked and pulled something out of his pocket. "Do you still want to say no even after this photo I just recently took of Soul with another girl?"

Maka rolled her eyes with glare, wanting to push his phone away from her face until his persistence finally made her take a clearer look at the photo.

Maka's eyes widened in shock as she felt her vision go blurry. The photo was indeed one that contained Soul with another girl, but what horrified Maka the most was that the girl in the photo looked exactly like her and her lips were locked with Soul's.

Author's Note: That's it for Chapter 11. Feedback is always welcomed and appreciated and as always thanks for reading!


	12. The Faux Maka Albarn

Chapter 12: The Faux Maka Albarn

"Alright explain to me how this photo is possible before I punch that idiotic grin off your face." Maka asked flatly, as she blinked away some tears.

Travis looked unaffected by Maka's threat and just grinned coyly.

"Well it looks like to me that it's you lip-locked with Soul." Travis replied back.

"You know damn well that's not what I meant! How can I be kissing Soul in this photo when we've never kissed at school before, that isn't me!" Maka snapped out.

Travis just shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe you have somebody impersonating you at this school and your so called partner couldn't even tell the difference between the two of you."

Maka's eyes widened a bit at Travis's comment.

'He's right Soul didn't even seem to realize that whoever that girl is in that photo wasn't me. Does he really not know me that well that he made such a simple mistake like that?'

Travis noticed Maka had become distressed and smirked. 'Playing with your emotions is one of your fatal flaws Maka.'

"See you wouldn't have problems like this if you had just agreed to become my partner in the first place." Travis explained smugly.

Immediately, Maka's sadness quickly turned back to anger.

"I know you had something to do with this Travis and when I find out; I'll make sure that you pay for it." Maka growled out before she walked off in the direction of outside.

Travis just let Maka go, not amused or impressed by her warnings.

'All I know is that bitch better have kept up her end of the deal so everything can go according to plan. It took forever just to make sure all the information I had was correct.' Travis frowned as he mulled over the research he had done over the past few days and last couple of hours just to prepare for today.

FLASHBACK

"So these are Soul Eater's and Maka Albarn's files. It took forever to get these without someone noticing. I better find something good out of this." Travis whispered under his breath as he sat in an isolated corner of the library.

Travis first looked over Soul's file and didn't find anything too significant until he came down to a section labeled Past Health History.

"Hmm what do we have under here? It seems like he had surgery around last year for a slash he got to the chest." Travis quietly read aloud as he read over the section and summary of the incident.

Accident Report Summary:

While on a mission in Italy, one star meisters Maka Albarn and Soul Eater were attacked in battle by the demon weapon Crona. No major injuries were reported to be found on Maka, but Soul's blood was mixed with the Black blood he gained from a slash to a chest while protecting his meister from harm.

Travis read over the section again more carefully.

"This is my first time hearing about something like black blood. I wonder what it does to Soul's body? He's been having it in his system for a little over a year now." Travis muttered to himself.

After a few more minutes of looking through Soul's file, Travis turned his attention towards Maka's.

"Well Soul's didn't have anything really of interest besides that black blood thing I need to investigate more into, but I'm sure Maka's file will have something good." Travis thought gleefully.

Travis went through Maka's file in the same manner as he went through Soul's: Reading every section once then double checking to make sure he hadn't missed anything unusual.

Travis's eyes lit up immediately, it didn't take him long to find something that caught his attention under Maka's personal info.

Besides having a father who was a death scythe and an apparently missing mother who was also a respectable meister herself, what stood out to Travis the most what that Maka had a grigori soul.

'Maka has a grigori soul; that's one of the rarest souls one could have! I've read about that type of soul in books before, but I never thought I would actually find someone who had it. I can't let an opportunity like this pass me up. I have to add that soul to my collection." Travis thought, a sickening smile growing on his face.

"But first things first, I need to start my end of the deal that I promised to that annoying girl Rachel and give her that elixir that makes you look like someone else temporarily." Travis grumbled as he closed both files and snuck off to return them back to their original place.

FLASHBACK END

~X~

"Oh Soul. has so much explaining to do when I get home! I'm going to chop him so many times until his head goes through the floor!" Maka hissed under her breathe as she stomped home.

Once Maka got inside and locked the doors behind her she found Soul asleep on the couch.

Maka stared at him for a second before deciding to wake him up with a blow to the head.

"Ow, what the hell did I do deserve being awakened like that!" Soul shouted as fell off the couch and rubbed his head.

"Explain to me what you were doing behind the school earlier this afternoon with me?" Maka snapped ignoring the look confusion that came onto Soul's face.

"Uh what do you mean? Weren't you behind the school with me?" Soul stated not sure what Maka meant.

"No I wasn't! I was waiting for you by my locker like you had said for me to do. So again I ask what you were doing with that imposter Maka?" Maka growled out.

"Whoa wait a minute! That wasn't you earlier? I thought it was I mean it looked like you." Soul stated surprised and now a bit nervous.

"Ugh how could you be so stupid?! I'm sure she was acting out in some way that should have gave away that it wasn't me, but instead you were so blind that you had to go and kiss her!" Maka cried feeling her voice begin to crack a bit.

"I wasn't the one who initiated the kiss! She forced herself on me and how do you know that we kissed if you weren't even there?" Soul retorted back.

"Don't worry about how I know that! The main thing is you didn't even seem to notice anything odd about her do you really not know me that well?" Maka asked.

"After all we've been through do you really think that? Geez it's not that it's just that well…" Soul frowned unsure how to finish his statement. 'When we were behind the school you actually told me you loved me… and now I'm finding out that wasn't even you.'

"Just what? I bet you probably got caught up in the fact that she was seducing you and you fell for it just like any other guy." Maka stated not letting Soul speak.

Soul became pissed, but didn't answer back. 'I thought Maka had gotten past her hating men fiasco, but she still obviously has issues over it and this situation definitely isn't helping.' Soul sighed and was about to speak up again when Maka cut in.

"I don't want to hear your excuses I have homework to do. You can go back to sleeping now." Maka huffed out and slammed the door to her room.

Both Maka and Soul knew that was just a cover up to hide the tears already slipping down Maka's cheeks.

~X~

Later that evening on the other side of town:

"I rather as well get this over with and call Rachel to confirm everything went as planned." Travis grumbled as he took out his phone.

Meanwhile Rachel was back at the girl's dorms when she noticed her phone going off.

"Oh hold on guys I'll be right back, I have to take this call." Rachel stated as she got up off her bed.

"Okay, but hurry back the movie is getting to best part soon!" Nancy said giving her a side glance.

Rachel stepped out of the room and walked towards a quieter area of the hallway.

"You better have a good reason for calling me all of a sudden." Rachel hissed into her phone.

"I'm just calling to make sure that you kept your end of the deal like I asked you to." Travis questioned.

"Oh that? Yeah I did as you wanted me to and broke into Dr. Stein's office and messed up the place and got you what wanted out of flirting with Hiro tpp. I'm pretty sure the cameras in and around the school could clearly see me. Plus I even got to get that kiss from Soul, though I wish it hadn't been while I looked like that nerd Maka." Rachel said squealing a bit when she thought back over everything.

"I told you the plan wouldn't have worked if you looked like yourself. I'm just glad you were able to cause a big enough scene to Stein's office in order to frame Maka. By the way, I need you to text me what Hiro told you." Travis replied back.

"Yes. I now you reminded me to send you the stuff and anything to make Maka look bad is fine with me, I just hate that you had to pick Dr. Stein's office of all places; it was so creepy being in there." Rachel added shivering a bit.

"I have my reasons for what I do." Travis muttered before hanging up.

'Now all that's left is to just wait until Monday to see the final parts of the plan completed.'

Maka was sure that by the time she had reached class on Monday morning she had heard at least ten people whispering behind her back.

'What is everyone talking about? It must be something about me at least and not hopefully anything involving Emerald.' Maka thought tiredly as she peeked at Soul from the corner of her eye.

Ever since the incident had happened back on Friday the two of them hadn't been on speaking terms and it was not only causing a rift in their wavelengths, but also in their friendship.

"Alright class, settle down were going to be having a pop quiz to start things off to make sure you've been reading." Stein stated as he handed a paper to each student.

Maka took her paper and noticed that there was a sticky note attached to hers that didn't seem to be on anyone else's paper.

'Why is this on my paper?' Maka thought feeling on edge as she read over the short message.

I need you to meet me in my office after school at 3 pm to discuss something. - Stein

'Great as if I wasn't already dealing with enough problems; my impersonator must have done more around the school than just kiss Soul.' Maka sighed.

The rest of the day went by slowly for Maka, at least most of her friends like Liz and Tsubaki didn't think she had done anything wrong, but Maka still had to face hearing people whisper and taunt her behind her back when they thought she didn't notice.

As 3 o clock rolled around, Maka trudged inside Professor Stein's office and was surprised to see it in shambles with papers and books scattered all about the floor and dirt and mud even along some of the walls.

Professor Stein looked up from his papers and maintained the same rigid expression he had given her earlier in class.

"Do you know why I called you in here Maka?" Stein asked after a few minutes of silence passed.

"If it's anything like what I've heard people talking about, it must be something to do with your office being like this." Maka replied back taking a seat in the chair across from him.

"Well yes that and the fact that my cameras show that it's you who caused my office to look like this in the first place." Stein stated as he took out of one of his cameras and played the recording back to her.

Maka gazed at the video for a few minutes before looking away.

"You know that isn't me, right? I wasn't anywhere near your office at the time this incident happened." Maka said.

"Well you're going to have to provide more information than just that in order to provide a reliable alibi." Stein answered back.

Maka bit her lip. Back on Friday at the time the video showed the accident had occurred she had been walking to her locker alone. It wasn't as if anyone had really seen her unless they took a look at one of the hallway's cameras or asked anyone who had a locker close to hers.

Stein noticed Maka looked uneasy and decided to calm her down.

"Relax Maka I know that this isn't you in this recording. I might expect maybe Black Star to try to break into my office, but not you." Stein explained, smiling a bit to ease her fears.

Maka groaned. "Then why did you just let me sit here worried I was going to get in trouble for a crime I didn't commit?"

Stein simply shrugged. "I like to mess with my students, but seriously though. do you have any idea who would want to set you up like this?" Stein asked.

Immediately the thought of Travis or Soul's fan-girls popped into Maka's head.

"There is this one guy in the NOT class, he's not exactly that popular. I think he mostly just keeps to himself, but he has been bothering me lately along with Soul's fans." Maka answered.

"This wouldn't happen to be the same guy that you sensed also back at the Gala?" Stein asked.

"Wait a minute; you noticed his presence also on that day?" Maka questioned in shock.

"Yes, when that blackout occurred, Marie wanted me to use my Soul Perception to look around for anyone that seemed unusual; I told her I did notice something odd and that you went off after him." Stein clarified.

'If Stein noticed that I left the party does that mean he watched for when I came back in?" Maka thought, beginning to feel anxious all over again.

Just to confirm Maka's thoughts Stein spoke up again.

"You know I thought it was odd that it took you so long to come back. especially in the condition you came back in. I also thought it was strange that right around the time Emerald and Diamond stopped performing that you arrived in also. What an odd coincidence that is!" Stein said with a grin as he watched Maka squirm a bit in her seat.

Maka just glared at Stein for a few seconds before letting out a sigh. "Okay what's it going to take for you not to tell anyone?"

Stein yawned becoming a bit bored with his teasing. "I don't care that you and Emerald are the same person. The only reason I really know is because I looked at everyone's soul who came in and out of the party and I highly doubt there is another girl around your age walking around with a grigori soul also."

Maka felt a bit better when he said that, but that didn't stop the anxiety she was still feeling.

"What should I do about Travis though? He wants something out of me besides just being his meister." Maka asked.

"For now he really hasn't done anything to the school that we can pin him with. We'll just have to watch him closely and since he seems to be focusing on you, you'll have to really make sure he doesn't try anything." Stein said, twirling a pen in hands.

"What? You want me to put myself in possible danger as bait for him; who knows what he might try though?" Maka snapped becoming angry at his decision.

"He obviously doesn't want to hurt you too bad physically just yet or he would have done it back on the night of the gala." Stein answered back.

'Well he's got me there.' Maka thought, still unhappy with where this situation was going to lead her.

"Anyways, I'll let you go now. I have to get to cleaning up this mess you know. It's disappointing that whoever came in here knocked down and destroyed some of my dissections and experiments. Marie won't let me carry any of them home anymore because she's afraid all the bacteria and germs might make the baby sick." Stein said with a sigh as he picked up some fallen papers.

"Well she does have a good point you don't want your child to be getting sick when they're only a few months old and haven't built up a good immune system yet." Maka mentioned.

"True hey maybe you could help me finish some of these dissections! Like this squirrel I found I wanted to mix his brains with a-"Stein paused and looked up and noticed Maka was no longer in the room.

"Hmm well if being Emerald has taught her anything, then it's how to escape from situations especially when they get uncomfortable for her." Stein said with a laugh.

~X~

'I'm not sure where Stein got the idea that I would ever want to help with his dissections 'that's disgusting even just thinking about it.' Maka thought scrunching up her face.

Unfortunately more bad news was coming her way because when Maka opened her locker she found a letter for her from Travis.

Hello Maka it's been about a week now. It's time for you to make a decision.

"Oh, I see you got my letter good. I was a bit worried you were going to go running off trying to hide from me." Travis stated popping up behind Maka just as she finished reading it.

Maka just rolled her eyes and faced him. "I'm not a coward for your information."

Travis just grinned at her stubborn behavior. "I know you aren't Maka you really aren't anything like Hiro, he was quite a wimp when I confronted him even with all the training and advice you gave him. Spilled everything to me about what's really been going on in only a matter of seconds."

Maka eyes narrowed a bit. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Travis only smirked and continued on. "Oh, you know what I'm talking about Maka; don't play dumb. Even though I had to ask Rachel to flirt with him a bit to get the information I needed. I already had that photo of you two and other data for me to come to a conclusion."

Maka bit her lip, this situation already looked horrible; it really couldn't possibly get any worse, right?

"It surprised me Hiro did put up a fight at first, he denied everything about the photo being a picture of you and him and he even denied that Rachel had gotten anything out of him, but he finally started talking when I made my arm into a sickle." Travis explained with a laugh.

Maka eyes widened a bit as Travis showed her his sickle arm. There was a mix of fresh and dried blood still on it.

"Now that you are all caught up with the story, let's just get to the point. I know that you and Hiro are Emerald and Diamond respectively." Travis finished calmly.

"So now that you know what are you going to do with that information?" Maka asked quietly.

To Maka's shock Travis pulled her close and whispered the response in her ear.

"Now that I know who you two really are I'm going to become a member of your little group. Don't worry Hiro already agreed to it. Starting on Wednesday Masquerade has a third group member and you have a new partner."

Author's Note: That's it for Chapter 12, let me know what you think and as always thanks for reading!


	13. I Want To Get Know You Better

Chapter 13: I want to get to know you better

"You can't be serious right? Why would you want to be a member of Masquerade? I mean do you even play an instrument or anything like that?" Maka questioned as she moved out of Travis's grip on her.

"As a matter of fact I do play an instrument, but you'll just have to wait until Wednesday to really see it." Travis chuckled before walking away.

Maka watched him leave in frustration. "Damn it Hiro, what have you done to cause all of this to happen! I need to have a word with him." With that thought in mind, Maka left in the opposite direction to go find Hiro for a better explanation.

It really shouldn't have taken so long for Maka to find Hiro; it seemed like he was trying to hide from facing her or at least not talking to her at school, but eventually Maka cornered him the following afternoon just outside the weight room.

"Oh hey Maka, what brings you here? I just finished a work out and was about to hit the showers." Hiro stated nervously under Maka's glare.

"Hiro, you know why I'm here and you better have a good reason for why you just decided to let Travis come into Masquerade without first consulting with me." Maka said sternly.

"Uh well, it's really a long story I'm not sure this is the right place to say it." Hiro mumbled looking around for an escape.

"Ugh why are you so impossible to deal with sometimes? Just give me a brief summary then of what happened when Rachel came up to you and what Travis did to you then." Maka asked become aggravated.

"Err well okay, but I'm pretty sure you're not going to like it." Hiro stated quietly.

FLASHBACK

"96...97...98...99...And 100. Alright I finally managed to do 100 push-ups non-stop without stopping." Hiro muttered happily as he sat up when he suddenly noticed there was a woman standing above him.

"Um can I help you?" He asked.

"Yes you can actually. I'm Rachel and you must be Hiro from the EAT class that I've heard so much about." Rachel purred as she rubbed a finger on his chest.

Hiro grinned at this and smirked a bit. "Yup, that's me alright! I guess you've noticed how much improvements I've made over the past few months and wanted to go out with me right?" Hiro mused confidently.

"Well maybe we can go out for ice cream later, but first you have to tell me something about Maka Albarn." Rachel stated sweetly as she played with the hair behind Hiro's ears.

Hiro paused for a moment, becoming a bit hesitant to speak again. "Uh, what would you like to know? I mean I don't exactly talk to Maka that much really." Hiro grumbled.

"Really? I mean I swear some of my friends and I saw you two talking to each other, but we could have just been mistaken." Rachel said teasingly.

"Ah, well I mean I might have talked to her a bit about music, but that's all really." Hiro answered quickly.

"Oh come on Hiro. There's no need to be so shy. You can tell me if you two are going out or something, even though I would rather have you all for myself." Rachel said with a pout and sugary smile.

"Whoa, wait a minute! Maka and I aren't going out! I just give her some advice about music occasionally and play a bit with her it's really no big deal!" Hiro cried not wanting Rachel to get the wrong idea.

Rachel smirked internally. 'Finally I'm actually get some decent information out of this loser.'

Rachel pretended to be relieved. "Well that's good to know. I wouldn't want to mess up any relationship you two possibly have with each other."

"Nope we're just friends, I swear! Anyways, what's say we get out of here and go get that ice cream like you suggested?" Hiro stated as he wrapped an arm around Rachel's waist.

Rachel grimaced a bit at the action, but quickly covered it up with a fake smile. "Okay, but first I think you should take a quick shower and get changed."

FLASHBACK ENDS

As Hiro expected, when he finished his story Maka was pissed.

"So because she flirted with you a little bit and you went on one small date you exposed our alter egos to her?" Maka questioned.

"No, Rachel still doesn't know who we are behind those masks, but I'm assuming from what information I did give her, Travis was able to put two and two together." Hiro considered.

"Okay well that story still didn't explain about what Travis did to you." Maka stated after thinking over everything Hiro told her.

Hiro sighed a bit before lifting up his shirt to reveal small slashes all around his stomach and chest.

Maka's eyes widened in horror. "Oh my gosh Hiro, what did Travis do to you?" Maka cried out worriedly.

"Basically he asked if what Rachel had told him was true and when I tried to deny it he said he had enough information to know I was lying and then he just attacked me until I told him the full truth." Hiro explained somberly.

"Why didn't you at least try to fight him back or at least try to run away?" Maka asked, disappointed Hiro hadn't at least used some of the advice she had given him this whole time.

"Well I did, but you know fists don't really work so well against a sharp object like a sickle and he moved so fast he really made sure I had no way of escaping." Hiro replied.

Maka sighed. It wasn't like either of them could do anything about it now that everything was all said and done.

"Guess tomorrow we'll be having practice with the guitar, saxophone, and whatever instrument Travis plays." Hiro mused quietly.

"Yeah, but first Travis wants me to do practice with him on the field as his new meister." Maka scoffed, already knowing tomorrow was going to be a long day.

Maka noticed the look of confusion that came onto Hiro's face at her statement and just shook her head.

"It's a long story I would rather not repeat it right now."

~X~

"Maka come on. you're not even really trying to use me properly! We're barely making any actual cuts into the tree!" Travis stated in his weapon form.

"Maybe I can't use you properly because I'm a scythe meister and I don't specialize in whatever the hell you are!" Maka snapped back throwing him on the ground without care.

Travis sighed and returned back to his human form. "Really Maka I told you I'm a sickle and that's not too far off from a scythe and besides, you can't just use that as your excuse for not trying. I mean I know you've used Tsubaki before as a weapon and she's not a scythe."

Maka frowned and just walked off further into the woods away from him. 'How does Travis know that? He shouldn't know this much about me.' Maka thought feeling uncomfortable. If he was looking up things about her, then it was time she start investigating him as well.

Finally Maka stopped at a small grove in the forest and sat down with Travis trailing closely behind her. He watched her for a second before sitting down next to her only for Maka to stand right back up and move to a tree on the opposite side of him.

"Stop following me, I practiced with you just like you wanted me to! The least you could do is give me some alone time now!" Maka sneered out.

Travis just stared at her and smiled softly before taking something out of his pocket. Maka watched him carefully and was surprised when he revealed the photo was the one of her and Hiro from a few weeks ago.

"Why are you bringing that out?" Maka questioned warily.

Travis didn't respond back and simply tore up the photo into pieces and then threw the pieces into the mud.

Maka looked unimpressed though. "So you tore up the photo, big deal. I bet you made hundreds of copies beforehand just to make sure you still had your blackmail."

"No, actually I don't need to use a photo of you as blackmail anymore because now I just have recordings of you and I talking to each other that would provide better evidence in case you want to back out." Travis stated simply.

"What! Wait what are you talking about; what recordings?" Maka snapped sitting up a bit from leaning on the tree.

"You didn't really think I would just rely on a photo, right? Those cameras around the school are quite easy to hack into once you mess with them a bit." Travis chuckled.

"Ugh, I hate you! I don't even know why you're so interested in me anyways you should be trying to find a meister in the NOT class." Maka grouched.

"Well I could say the same thing about you Maka. Why are you still so interested in Soul when technically he isn't your weapon anymore?" Travis retorted back.

"Because Soul doesn't force me to do things by using blackmail against me and he's the one I worked the most with." Maka hissed.

Travis looked amused. "Really Maka, but I know Soul hasn't been the nicest person to you either. I know he's called you many things before such as tiny tits, that you're a bookworm, and that you have fat ankles… should I go on?" Travis mused.

Maka frowned a bit and looked down. "Soul may have said all those things about me, but I know he doesn't mean it, he can actually be a nice and friendly person unlike YOU." Maka emphasized.

"Besides it's not like I'm without fault. I've said some mean things to Soul also in my anger or frustration too. "Maka finished. 'Like just the other day when I yelled at him for not knowing the difference between me and an imposter. I shouldn't have been so quick to anger and heard his side of the story. And to think I promised myself I would try and hit him less…'

Travis arched an eyebrow at this. "So, I can assume the reason you became Emerald was to try and get Soul to stop seeing you as just a bookworm, right?"

Maka huffed. "No I became Emerald to better understand music, but you wouldn't understand."

Travis laughed at this. "Oh really, try me then?"

"Music has always been one of the most difficult things for me to understand. All my friends can understand it and are into all types of genres of music that when I try to listen to I'm confused by. For the longest time I've always wanted to at least be able to hold one conversation with them about music without being teased for my own interests in music or just not being able to add in anything." Maka explained.

"That sounds like a nice goal, but I do wonder why you didn't just ask Soul for help instead of Hiro. I mean I'm pretty sure Soul knows more about music than Hiro coming from a family of musical prodigies." Travis stated after thinking over what Maka had just said.

Maka looked troubled. Once again Travis had surprised her by knowing information she was sure nobody had told him about.

"Yeah, you have a point, I could have always asked Soul for help, but I didn't want to. I just thought it would be too embarrassing to ask him when he hasn't exactly helped me feel better about how bad I am with music and with Hiro we're both helping each other out in a way." Maka reasoned.

"Don't you ever worry that Soul will eventually find out?" Travis questioned.

Maka only smiled bitterly. "I worry about it every time I perform, but I keep playing because I know I'm getting better and someday I'll actually perform for Soul the same way he performed for me like the day we first met." Maka continued on with a sigh, beginning to daydream.

Travis just scowled a bit. 'Great. All this conversation has done has caused Maka to just start thinking about Soul all lovey-dovey. I need her to trust me more than she does right now if I'm ever going to get closer to her and her soul.'

Suddenly an idea popped into Travis's head and he sat up. "Hey, let's get out of this forest and take a walk in the park since it is a nice day."

Maka seemed to ignore him for a second before speaking up. "What about the training that you wanted so badly to do?"

Travis only shrugged. "You're not even trying so what's the point? Besides, I want to know more about you besides just the fact that you're a meister and Emerald so let's go." He stated as he lifted her up by the arm and started to drag her.

Maka narrowed her eyes and broke away, but thought back to what Professor Stein had told her. 'I just have to keep an eye on him for now to make sure he doesn't try anything even though I would rather be with Soul right now.'

~X~

"Soul, I can tell something is bothering you can you please just tell me what it is so we can practice properly?" Kid questioned with a sigh.

"I told you I'm fine. Nothing is distracting me." Soul replied back gruffly looking away.

Kid scowled for a minute before calmly rubbing the bridge of his nose, contemplating on what he could say next to smooth the conversation.

"If this has something to do with your fight with Maka then I would suggest you just make up with her before it distracts you anymore from your studies and future missions." Kid explained.

"Who said this has anything to do with Maka?" Soul growled, but the blank stare Kid gave him back clearly told him he didn't believe him.

"You two don't usually fight for this long, so what did you do this time to make her angry?" Kid asked.

Soul sighed and explained what happened back on Friday and how Maka had pretty much been giving him the silent treatment since then.

"Well, it does look bad that you just let whoever was pretending to be Maka just kiss you like that and it's even worse that you don't know who's behind it all." Kid mused.

"I wouldn't have let it happened if she hadn't surprised me with what she had told me." Soul scoffed, trying to defend himself.

"Oh and what did she tell that threw you off so much?" Kid asked innocently.

Soul chose not to respond, leading Kid to become even more curious to what 'Maka' could have told him.

Soul sighed seeing as Kid wasn't going to drop the topic anytime soon. "She told me she loved, there you happy now?"

Kid smirked and shook his head. "So that's why you were so stunned at first. Though I figured that personally you would think it would be cooler if you were the one to confess first." Kid finished laughing.

Soul just growled and blushed slightly. "Shut-up! And anyways, it doesn't matter that wasn't really Maka. I'm not sure how they made themselves look like her, but I'll figure it out eventually."

"Don't you need to make up with the real Maka first though?" Kid reasoned.

"Yeah, but I don't know what I can do when all she does is ignore me when were in the apartment. She won't even Maka-chop me when I know I deserve it which is a bad sign." Soul stated.

Kid just sighed and thought things over before coming to a conclusion. "Okay, our lessons are done for today just go home and resolve things with Maka."

Soul looked slightly surprised at this. "Really, just like that; are you sure?"

Kid smiled and nodded his head. "Yeah, go home and fix things with Maka. I don't know what you can do to make things better, but do something because next week were going to have to work double the hours to make up for this week."

Soul grinned showing up his razor sharp teeth. "Thanks Kid, I'll come up with something." And with that Soul walked off in the direction of his apartment.

Kid debated with himself as he watched Soul leave. 'I wonder if was just a good idea to make such a quick decision and let him leave early, but there's no way we were going to get anything accomplished with him having Maka on his mind the whole time.'

~X~

"Let's just take a seat here." Maka said as she sat down at a table not too far away from park.

Maka glanced down at her watch, it was currently 3:05 pm. 'Soul doesn't get of practice at least for 2 more hours, what can I do to pass the time? I would at least rather be at Hiro's place practicing.' Maka thought with a sigh.

Travis took the seat opposite of her and studied Maka's facial expression. She appeared bored and distracted once again.

Maka finally noticed Travis was staring at her and became confused. "Why do you keep staring at me?" Maka questioned with a huff.

Travis only fake pouted. "I can't stare at a beautiful woman?"

Maka still looked annoyed, but she blushed slightly which didn't go unnoticed by Travis.

"Soul must not compliment you a lot if my flattery makes you blush like this." Travis mused.

Maka only scoffed. "I don't need Soul's flattery to make me feel better about myself."

"True, but seeing how you two behave around each other, I'm sure it would surprise you and make you happy if one day Soul just blurted out things like he thought you were pretty or smart."

Maka tried to picture Soul doing this and blushed even more. She had to admit it was odd thinking about Soul being romantic with her, especially with how busy they both were lately and how unusual it would be for Soul to do. 'Soul isn't the type to show his emotions, I highly doubt that's going to change anytime soon.'

Maka just sighed and shook away her thoughts. "It shouldn't matter to you how I feel towards Soul or how Soul feels towards me; it's none of your business." Maka explained, glaring at Travis.

"Maybe so, but that's not going to stop him from getting other ideas into his head, right?" Travis said smugly as he glanced to the side.

Maka became puzzled by Travis's statement until she followed his gaze to the side and saw who he was looking at: Soul.

Author's Note: That's it for Chapter 13, let me know what you think and as always thanks for reading!


	14. Change Of Plans

Chapter 14: Change of plans

For a minute Maka felt as if the world had just suddenly came to a stop. All she could do was watch in stunned silence as Soul glared at Travis first and then glared at her before starting to walk over.

"Hey look, he's coming over, isn't that great? Now we can all have a friendly chat together!" Travis stated with a smile and a wave as Soul got closer.

Travis's jeering broke Maka out of her funk and she quickly got up out of her seat and ran over to Soul.

Soul looked down at Maka coldly as she met him halfway. "You better have a real good reason this time for why you're out on a date with him of all people." He spat out.

"Listen, I know what this situation looks like, but I swear we aren't out on a date; just believe me and hear me out." Maka stated trying to keep the apprehension out of her voice.

"Okay and why should I believe you when you've been so secretive lately anyways? Isn't that the same guy who was with you by your locker just a few weeks ago? Why are you hanging out with him now? Do you hang out with him on Wednesdays because you know that's when I have training with Kid?" Soul asked, bringing up multiple questions at once.

Maka sighed. "Yes it is the same guy, but I'm not hanging out with him because I want to, I'm doing it because of what Professor Stein suggested I do."

Soul still regarded Maka with a detached expression. "What the hell does Professor Stein have to do with any of this?"

"He thinks this guy might have something planned against the school, so he wants me to keep watch on him to make sure he doesn't try anything." Maka answered. 'Well at least that's part of the reason why I have to endure being around him.'

Soul arched an eyebrow at this. "Why did he specifically ask you to do this though?"

"For some reason he seems to be really interested in me. I'm not sure why though, but I don't think he'll try anything as long as I'm watching him." Maka explained.

Soul scoffed a bit at this. "I can clearly see he's interested in you that's for sure, but I don't like the idea of you being around him alone, even if it is for a solo assignment apparently."

"I don't like spending time around him either trust me, but he's not a normal person he knows things he shouldn't know." Maka said quietly. 'Things I'm definitely going to track him down about and find out with due time.'

Soul became a bit concerned at this and dropped his voice down to a whisper. "Like what? He doesn't know any important secrets about the DWMA, does he?"

"I don't know maybe. I mean he knew stuff about me like what type of weapons I've used and he even knew you came from a family of musicians." Maka whispered back.

Soul looked stunned for a second before becoming annoyed again. "If he really knows all that than that's all the more reason why I think you should avoid him Maka or at least let me ask Stein to help you out with this task." Soul stated before smirking a bit at the thought of slicing Travis apart due to an 'accident.'

"No!" Maka cried startling Soul a bit. "Ah, I mean I don't want to get anyone I know personally involved in this assignment. I don't know what tricks he has up his sleeves."

Soul just shrugged. "It's not like he doesn't already seem to have the resources to track anyone down at the DWMA anyways. Do you really not want my help?"

"It's not that I don't want your help, it's just that you're a death scythe now so you need to focus on training with Kid now along with all the work you have to do as a weapon in general." Maka clarified.

"Screw all of that! You know I barely do my homework anyways. I don't mind helping you with this case if you really need it." Soul snapped back.

"Look call it a hunch, but I really don't think he cares about attacking the school, I think he is more interested in the abilities of the people who attend the school more than anything else and yes I know you don't do your work, that's not something to be proud of though." Maka explained as calmly as she could.

Soul scowled and gazed at Maka for a minute, he could tell Maka wasn't going to let him interfere in whatever the details of this guy's case were.

"Alright Maka, I'll let you handle this guy alone for now, but as soon as he tries anything I'm going to cut him into pieces no matter what." Soul stated gruffly as he pulled Maka into an embrace.

Maka's face heated up. "Soul stop it, what are you doing? You don't need to worry about me I already told you I can handle him alone I-"Soul decided to cut Maka off midsentence with a kiss.

Maka froze up for a second before beginning to relax and kiss him back by wrapping her arms around his neck.

Soul grinned slightly against Maka's lips before kissing her a bit more roughly letting his teeth scrape against her bottom lip before he decided to pull back.

"W-What was that for all of a sudden?" Maka managed to stutter out her face still burning.

"First to apologize for what happened with that fake Maka last week and second to wipe that damn grin off of that guy's face." Soul finished with a smirk as he looked back in Travis's direction.

Maka blinked confused for a moment about who Soul was talking about before suddenly remembering Travis had been watching the two of them bicker and then kiss this whole time. Maka turned her attention back towards him and sure enough as Soul had said, Travis was giving them a dirty look before turning away.

Maka frowned and huffed a bit. "Hey, you didn't just kiss me in order to spite him, did you?"

Soul became uncomfortable at Maka's sudden question. "Uh, well yes and no. I did want to kiss you honestly, but I really wanted to also make sure that guy knew not to mess with you."

Maka smiled a bit. "That's not a very good answer, but I'll let it slide for now and trust me I can handle him I don't need you to protect me. I should go back to watching him now though. We probably just provoked him by just kissing like that.

Soul grinned back. "Good, maybe he'll take as a warning to go back to wherever he came from, but text me or call me if he tries anything." Soul finished as he gave one last glare in Travis's direction before leaving.

Maka sighed; still feeling slightly dazed as she gently brushed her fingers against her lips to feel the warmth.

Maka returned back to Travis and found him leaning back in his chair staring at the sky. a blank expression on his face.

Maka smirked at this. "Well this is surprise, for once you have no smartass remarks to make huh?"

Travis pulled the chair back into its original position and faced Maka. "Let's just head over to Hiro's and get the music practice done with." He grumbled as he got up from his seat and walked off ahead of Maka.

'I really didn't expect that. I guess I'm going to have to be more careful about how I go about carrying out any other future plans now that Soul is going to be guarding her more seriously.' Travis mused grimly.

Unbeknownst to the two of them Soul hadn't completely left the park yet as he watched the two of them leave.

'Maka may not want me interfering with her work involving this guy, but she didn't say I couldn't ask other people to watch what they might be doing.' Soul contemplated before actually leaving the park for real.

~X~

"You two certainly took a while to come. I was beginning to think you guys weren't going to show up." Hiro stated as he let both Travis and Maka in.

Travis didn't answer back so Maka decided to speak up.

"Yeah Travis wanted to take a detour so we kind of got off track, but we can't practice for long today anyways, Soul apparently got out of training early with Kid." Maka said.

"What? You ran into Soul when Travis was with you? How did he handle that?" Hiro asked interested in what Maka had to say and how she managed to get away.

"Well um…" Maka blushed not really wanting to tell Hiro what happened until Travis just said it for her.

"They basically just yelled at each other a bit and then made out to give you the short version." Travis stated blandly. as he took a seat on the sofa.

Both Hiro and Maka looked confused at Travis's attitude, but shrugged and took a seat as well.

"So since you're forcing yourself into Masquerade at least let us hear a bit of about what instrument you play and what name you want to go with." Maka asked trying not to let her annoyance come back into her voice.

Travis grinned gaining back his smug demeanor as he replied back. "I've decided that I like the name Platinum and I'm a good drummer."

"Platinum is a bit close to Diamond don't you think? I mean the colors of them are basically the same, what color would your mask even be? Hiro asked as he took out his box of masks he had got from the drama club.

"Yes they are both quite similar stones, except Platinum is more expensive and rarer than any old Diamond." Travis snorted dismissing Hiro as he rummaged through the box.

"At least pick a different color so we aren't all completely alike." Maka pointed out.

"Well for you Maka okay." Travis stated as he picked out a gold colored mask with blue jewels aligned across the top and bottom.

"I don't have a drum set here, we'll probably have to go back to Music Mania and see if Mr. Clark will let us practice on any of his instruments." Hiro considered, as he watched Travis check to make sure the mask fit him properly.

"There's no need for us to go out. I'll just show you a video I made, I just need to borrow your laptop." Travis stated as he sat up a bit in the sofa.

"Are you any good with technology?" Maka asked.

"Yup and after hearing some of the songs you two have already played I think I have an idea of what we can do next that involves the drums, guitar, and saxophone." Travis explained confidently, as he loaded up the internet and typed in some information.

"Ugh it took a while just getting used to Hiro, but I don't think I'll ever get used to dealing with Travis." Maka thought as Travis finally pulled up a video that showed him next to a drummer's set.

"Okay, are you two ready to be amazed by playing?" Travis asked moving the cursor over the play button.

"Just start the video already so I can go home." Maka snapped tired of hearing Travis showing off.

Travis sighed and pushed play and let his music speak for himself. Both Hiro and Maka watched him play with mild interest, but as the video went on they paid more attention. Not only did Travis sound good, but he was able to move so fast without missing a beat on each drum that by the time the video was over, Hiro was even clapping at the performance.

"I can play other instruments also if you weren't blown away with that Maka." Travis stated once the video was over.

Maka was about to reply back that what she saw and heard was fine until Hiro spoke up.

"That was great man, I had you all wrong! I'm actually glad we've added you to the group!" Hiro said, practically bouncing up and down excitedly.

Maka became confused as to why Hiro was so happy to have Travis as a member of the group so suddenly. 'I know Hiro likes the fact that we make a lot of money from playing at the Pub, but he honestly couldn't have forgotten so easily that Travis cut him up in order to get in, right?" Maka thought.

Travis regarded Hiro with fake enthusiasm. 'Wow this guy is going to be easy to manipulate, its Maka who's going to be the real challenge.' Travis thought as he sent a grin Maka's way.

Maka just glowered at him with contempt and took out her saxophone.

"Since you said you had an idea for what our next song could be let's practice it out already and stop wasting any more time."

~X~

The rest of the hour and half Maka spent at Hiro's place went by quickly and it actually seemed like if they continued to practice each of their parts on their own they might be ready to perform maybe again at The White Lily possibly the week after next.

In the meantime though, Maka fortunately didn't have to deal with any of Travis's advances for the rest of the week or even any of Soul's fan-girls except for Rachel and her posse who kept giving her the stink eye and sending their notorious hateful locker letters which Maka had to keep away from Soul's prying eyes.

Finally though, the weekend came and by the time it was Saturday morning, Maka was up bright and early ready to hopefully spend the day doing something with Soul when she noticed she seemed to be alone in the apartment.

"Hey Blair, have you seen Soul anywhere? It's not like him to be up early on a weekend or really to be up before me any day of the week." Maka questioned, peering inside Soul's room to find it empty.

Blair just shook her head. "I've been sleeping this whole time. I'm still stuffed from all the fish I ate last night!" Blair purred out before hopping back onto the couch.

"Why, did you have something planned that you wanted to do with Soul for today?" Blair asked teasingly once she had made herself comfortable.

Maka blushed and nodded. "Well, it wasn't anything big really. I just wanted to see if he wanted to go see that new action flick that came out, but I guess I can wait until he comes home to ask him."

Blair just shook her head in agreement before dozing off again as Maka went back to her room to lie down as well.

"There's no real point in making breakfast just yet and its only 9:30 am right now, if anything when Soul comes back we can just go out for Brunch or something."

~X~

"I demand an explanation for why you had to wake him up so early on a Saturday morning!" Black Star shouted at Soul, rubbing his green eyes sleepily.

"Black Star please keep your voice down. Liz and Patty are still sleeping, but I would have to agree with Black Star. It is unusual for you to want to meet up with us in the morning." Kid yawned out from beside him.

"It's important enough that I didn't want to wait until later to tell you guys about it." Soul stated responding to the two of them.

Seeing how serious Soul was being, Kid and Black Star straightened up a bit to hear their friend out.

"The other day Maka was with some strange guy that apparently Stein assigned her to follow and hang around with that I want one of you guys to look more into." Soul explained.

"Wait a minute Soul, I thought I told you to resolve your problems with Maka and now she's apparently going out with another guy!" Kid questioned, annoyed Soul was bringing him his personal problems still.

"Dude, were you like spying on their date or something that doesn't sound like a very "cool" thing to do." Black Star asked with a snicker.

"They weren't on a date. I don't know what the details of Maka's case are with this guy, but I can't be the one to go prying any further or Maka will just find some way to make sure I'm blocked out." Soul grouched as he mulled over his options.

"So that's where we come in, right? You want one of us to essentially spy on Maka just to make sure the case she's doing isn't too dangerous for her and that she was telling you the truth." Kid assumed.

"Yeah, pretty much." Soul replied back with a shrug.

"Well, count me out. You should be the one to handle this on your own. If you really trust Maka, then you should believe in what she is telling you." Kid muttered.

"I do trust Maka; it's this guy she's been assigned to that I don't trust." Soul grumbled.

"Sounds more to me like you're just jealous that this guy is closer to possibly getting with Maka than you'll ever be!" Black Star said as he started to laugh loudly until Soul punched him hard enough to cause him to stop.

"Oh you so you want to have a fight then? Okay then the great Black Star never says no to an opponent no matter what time of day it is or who it is!" He stated, as he cracked his knuckles in anticipation.

"There's no need for that, I'm not going to deal with any chaos this early or in my own home." Kid snapped out, as he pushed the two away from each other.

Black Star frowned and scoffed a bit before puffing up his chest. "Well, since Kid said he didn't want to do it. I'll find out what's really going on with Maka."

Both Soul and Kid were surprised. "You really want to do it?" Soul questioned, wanting to make sure Black Star wasn't going to slack off and make an empty promise.

"Yeah man I'll do it, but you have to pay me first. I don't work for free you now." Black Star explained as extending his hand out for payment.

Soul rolled his eyes and pulled out his wallet. "Here's a 50 dollar bill, if you actually manage to get any good information then I'll give you double that."

Black Star grinned as he stared at bill and held it up to the light just to make sure it wasn't a fake. "Just to make sure were on the same page, doubling it would give me 100 dollars, right?"

Soul sighed. Did he really want to trust Black Star to do this? "Yes moron, its basic math."

"Yahoo! Alright, I can use that type of money to maybe take Tsubaki and Angela out somewhere nice! Now, I just need to know Soul, when should I start snooping on Maka?"

Soul grinned; he already had in mind the perfect time for him to begin.

"Next Wednesday as soon as she gets out of class, and make sure she doesn't see you or sense your presence."

Author's Note: That's it for Chapter 14, let me know what you think with a review and as always thanks for reading!


	15. Black Star Goes Undercover

Chapter 15: Black Star goes Undercover

"Wait a minute Soul are you sure you really want to trust Black Star do this?" Kid questioned as he watched Black Star happily kiss the 50 dollars Soul had gave him.

Soul shrugged. "Well I would feel more comfortable if you did it, but hey I don't have much in the way of options do I?"

"Hey! I'm still here you know! I bet that I'll find out not only what Maka's doing, but I'll figure out and solve the mystery of that guy who she has to follow around because that's how great I am!" Black Star snapped loudly.

"Just remember to remain hidden and stay a good distance away from her. Anyways I should be getting back home now I'm sure Maka has gotten up and is wondering where I am." Soul finished as he stood up and prepared to leave.

"Yeah I know already you don't need to tell me twice! Trust me by this time next week we'll know what Maka is up to!" Black Star yelled out to Soul as he walked back onto the street.

Soul sighed quietly. "I just really hope Black Star doesn't mess this plan up."

By the time Soul reached back to the apartment, it was already 11 am and Soul's first thought was that Maka had apparently stepped out until he had peeked inside her room.

Soul smiled as he looked over Maka's sleeping form, it was obvious she had awakened and gotten up beforehand because her bed was already made and she had just chosen to lie back down on top of the covers.

Soul brushed a few strands of her ash blonde hair out of her face as he noticed an opened magazine was lying across from her on the side.

Soul glanced at it curiously, wondering what Maka had been reading about as he read the title of the article: Top 10 things you can do to improve the sound of your Sax

"Why would Maka be reading about that?" Soul pondered about to look at the article in more detail when he noticed Maka starting to stir.

Immediately, Soul stepped back quickly not wanting Maka to know he had been snooping in her business as he watched her yawn and then turn towards him sleepily.

"Soul is that you? Where were you? It's not like you to get up early?" Maka questioned still drowsy from her nap.

Soul grinned internally to himself at how much easier it was to deal with a cute sleepy Maka questioning him and not an angry and alert Maka ready to chop him.

"Yeah I'm sure you were wondering where I was. I just stopped by Kid's, he really needed me to drop off some notes he had wanted me to do." Soul lied partially. Kid had told him to take some notes for practice missions they had planned to do, but he had told he wouldn't need them until later on in the week.

Maka stretched a bit starting to awaken more. "But why so early in the morning, couldn't it have waited until like the evening time when you usually hang out?"

"That's what I told him, but you know how OCD Kid can get about things that aren't in order or symmetrical." Soul said with a laugh.

Maka smiled and nodded in agreement as she finally stood up and walked over to her mirror to get a good look at her appearance.

"Well since you're finally back now I was thinking would you like to go out for brunch and maybe see that new action movie you were talking about earlier in the week?" Maka asked trying not to sound too nervous or shy.

"Any alone time I get to spend with you Maka is cool with me!" Soul whispered flirtatiously in her ear before he left her room to let her get changed.

Maka's face reddened, but she still grinned in enthusiasm as she watched Soul close the door behind him.

As Maka threw some clothes onto her bed from her closet, the magazine she had been reading earlier slid and fell off. Maka picked it back up and closed it, though a troubling thought popped into her head as she glanced back over the article it had been open to.

"I fell asleep as I was reading this and Soul was in my room when I woke up. I wonder if he saw what article I was reading because then he would just get suspicious all over again. I'm not exactly sure where our relationship really even is right now, but I know I don't want it to start being filled with lies and secrets." Maka mused before trying to brighten up. There was no need to be afraid Soul would find out about Emerald anytime soon since most of that stuff was hidden away and she would rather think about enjoying the day with Soul than stress over her alter ego.

~X~

"So apparently it was Medusa who experimented with black blood in order to study the effects it had on human body." Travis muttered under his breathe.

It was finally Wednesday afternoon again around 1:00 pm and Travis was back in the library, skipping class again as usual to investigate more into capturing Maka's grigori soul.

"Soul may think that he's able to protect Maka from me, but that idiot hasn't even figured out yet what Maka is really doing while he's off training. I should have been able to gain Maka's trust by now, but every time I try and get close to her that bastard shows up out of nowhere and Maka just completely forgets I'm even there. I really need to develop something that will get her to finally look my way even if it is by force." Travis growled to himself.

"The witches who have attacked the DWMA in the past have used forms of mind control and the black blood inside Soul only seems to only be activated when you need more power with the price of using it possibly causing the person to become insane. I can't just go off of their works though; I need to develop my own type of poison that I want Maka alone to have." Travis smirked as he continued to read more over the past enemies of the DWMA and write down options.

Meanwhile a few tables away from Travis, Black Star watched Travis taking notes with boredom.

"Geez I skipped class just for this? He's just taking notes and being a bookworm just like Maka nothing interesting about that." Black Star grumbled to himself.

As Travis got up though to put a book back, Black Star decided to take a closer look at what he had been writing down.

"Alright now's my chance to see what this guy has been writing about this whole time!" Black Star announced a bit too loudly causing people nearby to shush him.

Black Star quickly covered up his mouth. 'Oh crap I nearly gave myself away there! I need to actually try and be quiet if I don't want to get caught!'

Black Star crept up to Travis's notes and took a quick glance over what he wrote. What Black Star saw actually made him shiver a bit disturbed. Inside Travis's notebook were listings of ways to poison, drug, or torture a person into submission. He had even taken the time to draw out pictures and examples of items one could use to accomplish different forms of pain.

Black Star was about to take out his phone to snap a few photos of what he saw when Travis came up behind him.

"Hey, what are you doing by my stuff?" Travis asked Black Star as he gazed at his appearance up and down.

Black Star had actually taken the time to slightly change up his appearance, though he was still recognizable to most people at the school since the only thing he had done was slick back his spiky blue hair and put a cap on over it, but Travis hadn't really seen him much up until now or paid him any attention to recognize the difference.

"Uh err I was just looking for a book I thought you had on this table that I needed for a report." Black Star managed to gruff out as he looked over the textbooks Travis had scattered across the table.

"Well, I did just put one book back maybe that's the one you were looking for or you could just ask the librarian instead of going through my stuff." Travis spat out rudely as he moved his notebook away out of Black Star's view.

"Damn it he purposely put his notebook away! I guess I'll need to just watch and see what Maka does with him now once she gets out of class." Black Star muttered to himself as he moved into a different hiding spot incase Travis still thought he was spying on him.

For the next 30 minutes or so, Black Star resisted the urge to fall asleep as he watched Travis continue to take notes and just read until Hiro suddenly walked up to him causing Black Star to sit up in interest.

Unfortunately, Black Star was too far away to properly hear their conversation, but whatever Hiro had said had caused Travis to grin and pack up his stuff and then leave the library with Hiro.

Black Star waited for a few minutes to pass before following the two out the doors to see where they were going. Hiro had gone to his locker to take out two cases and then the two went to wait outside Class Crescent Moon.

'Hmm that's where Maka has her afternoon class. I wonder if that's just a coincidence or if there waiting for somebody else to show up.' Black Star thought as he hid at the corner of the hallway.

Around 2:00 pm the bell rang and students filed out of the classroom in different packs. Black Star looked around for Maka, but noticed even as the crowd died down that she hadn't walked out yet and Travis and Hiro were still by the door.

Black Star was beginning to become impatient, when Maka eventually walked out of the room and noticed Hiro and Travis were nearby. She frowned at the two of them and from what Black Star could make out, said something about not wanting to meet at the school before she took one of the cases from Hiro and all three left together.

'This is already becoming weird. Why is Hiro with them if Maka is only supposed to be investigating that one guy alone?' Black Star pondered as he followed them out the exit.

This time though, Black Star put on some sunglasses and really made sure to keep a good distance away from the trio now that Maka was with them.

"I don't know where they're going, but they are certainly trying to get there in a hurry." Black Star huffed out as he had taken to roof hopping to watch them.

~X~

"I told you guys I don't want us to meet at the school anymore! It's too much of a risk that someone will see us!" Maka grumbled in fury.

"That's what I was trying to tell Travis, but he insisted he wanted to see where you had class at." Hiro replied back.

"Yeah Maka, lighten up! What's wrong with me seeing your classroom?" Travis asked innocently.

"Maybe because you're a creep and trying to get on my good side by buying us presents and stuff won't work!" Maka snapped back.

"Oh Maka there's no need to be so angry! I bought all those clothes and accessories because you two don't really seem to splurge on any of the money you get from performing. I mean you guys make at least between 500 to 1000 dollars for each show you do that's a lot to have saved up by now!" Travis explained sincerely.

"Hiro, don't you think it was a waste of money though to just randomly have a shopping spree?" Maka asked trying to get Hiro to see her point of view.

"Hmm well I don't know Maka I do like these new jeans and shirts Travis got me! Plus, he even said having all this stuff would definitely help me get more dates with girls both as Hiro and as Diamond!" Hiro stated gleefully.

Maka sighed and rolled her eyes at Hiro's stupidity. 'What I really want to know is how did Travis know what size clothes fit us? How could he have looked that information up?'

Eventually all three of them were back at Hiro's apartment and Black Star hopped down from a nearby roof to inspect the area once he was sure they were inside.

'So apparently Maka has been doing this for quite a while now just going to Hiro's apartment with that other guy perhaps. My first hunch was that she was dating that one of them, but hopefully that won't be the case." Black Star pondered as he stood outside the building.

Surprisingly, Black Star didn't have to wait too long for them all to come out again as he noticed Hiro was now carrying a backpack on his shoulders that appeared to be stuffed.

Black Star quickly took back to roof hopping when he noticed Maka suddenly stopped and turned around. Black Star immediately stopped and jumped down into a nearby alleyway to avoid detection.

"What's up Maka, why did you suddenly stop?" Hiro questioned as he glanced around also.

"I just got the feeling for a second that we were being followed so I'm just checking around to make sure." Maka replied back as she scanned the area, but couldn't find anything out of the ordinary.

"Maka there's really no need to be ashamed of the time you spend with me!" Travis stated as he tried to grab Maka's hand only for her to slap his hand away and walk ahead of both him and Hiro.

Black Star watched as they passed the alleyway he was hiding in before crossing the street to enter into some café.

Black Star stopped outside the café and read the sign of the establishment: The White Lily Pub and Café.

'I know I've heard the name of this place somewhere before, but I can't remember from who.' Black Star thought as he went over what his next move should be.

'I guess I'll just go inside and sit in the way back so Maka won't notice me.' Black Star figured as he finally walked in.

"Hi welcome to the White Lily Pub and Café! Hmm you don't really look like the type of person who would listen to Masquerade's music, but who am I too judge?" Jessica stated as she greeted Black Star when he came in.

Black Star scoffed becoming offended. "Hey, you better watch what you say to me you're speaking to the great Black Star after all!"

Jessica didn't look impressed. "Yeah, that's nice. Anyways, I'm pretty sure you must be here for Masquerade's performance you should hurry and find a good seat, this place fills up fast."

Black Star was about to retort that he didn't really care about Masquerade's music or even who they were, but Jessica was already talking to the next customers coming in so Black Star just found a seat in the back.

"Hmm that lady at the front was right. People really do seem interested in this Masquerade group. I wonder if Tsubaki has heard about them." Black Star mused as he took off his sunglasses to take a better look around. The whole pub was beginning to become crowded with some people who had just come in having to stand by the doors or the bar.

~X~

Eventually, the same lady that Black Star had talked to earlier went on stage to make an announcement.

"Hello everyone thanks for coming to our 4 o clock variety music hour with Masquerade playing for us once again!"

A chorus of applause and cheering came up as soon as Jessica finished with some people even shouting out cries of "I love you Diamond!" and "Rock that sax again today Emerald!"

'Wow why don't people act like this whenever I enter into class or go anywhere?' Black Star thought as he stood up to get a better look at the stage.

"Masquerade also has informed me that they have some exciting news for us today. They have added a new member to their group who would like to go by Platinum! Now without further to do let's give all 3 of them a big round of applause!" Jessica cried out as she left the stage and the curtains opened.

Black Star took a sweeping glance at Emerald, Diamond, and Platinum. Emerald had on a green halter top with dark blue jeans, Diamond had on a grey short sleeved polo shirt with light blue jeans, and Platinum had on a blue V-neck shirt with light blue jeans also.

After all the cheering died down, the performance finally started with Platinum and Diamond starting things off with a light playing of the drums and guitar that matched with the orchestral strings playing in the background. Black Star even questioned for a moment if Emerald was even going to do anything until towards the end of the song she came in with her Sax and matched up with Platinum and Diamond's playing all the way until the end.

When the song was over even Black Star had to admit he was impressed by how good they were, but there was one small thought nagging him as he watched the trio take a bow from the applause.

'Even wearing those masks, it can't be just a coincidence that Maka, Hiro, and that one guy came in here all together and now they are nowhere to be found. There's no doubt about it Emerald must be Maka, but I'm going to have to corner her in order to get the truth.' Black Star thought as he stood up and made his way towards the stage.

Just as Black Star was about to approach Emerald, he was suddenly pushed back by fans trying to get each member's autograph or ask them a question.

"Damn it all these people are getting in my way!" Black Star growled out as he tried pushing people aside, but the time he was close enough to the stage all 3 of them were now gone.

"Great I lost track of them. I'm going to have to check outside or backstage before Maka leaves!" Black Star quickly tried to run backstage, but Jessica stopped him.

"Hey customers aren't allowed back here I can't allow you to go any further!" She snapped.

"Where's Emerald? I need to talk to her!" Black Star questioned anxiously trying to push Jessica aside.

Jessica scoffed and pushed him back. "Masquerade already left! If you wanted her autograph so bad you should have sat closer to the stage."

"You should have said that earlier! Maybe I can still catch her…" Black Star snapped as he took off outside.

As soon as Black Star got outside he looked for any sign of a familiar pig tailed blonde and grinned when he saw her further down the street.

"Hey wait up Maka!" Black Star yelled out causing Maka to freeze in her tracks.

"What's Black Star doing on this side of town at this time of day?" Maka thought to herself as she forced herself to greet him with a smile as he approached her.

"I bet you're wondering what I'm doing here. I just wanted to check out Masquerade's performance, I didn't know you could play the sax!" He stated in amusement as he took off his cap and spiked back up his hair.

Maka feigned confusion. "Black Star, what are you talking about? I don't play the-"but Black Star just continued to talk and stopped any words she was going to say next with his next statement.

"You can't keep secrets from your God! I've been following you Maka and I know you're Emerald! Now the real question is should I tell Soul what I've found out today or are you going to find a way to make sure I keep quiet?"

Author's Note: That's it for Chapter 15, let me know what you think with a review and as always thanks for reading!


	16. The Games We Play

Chapter 16: The Games We Play

Maka just stared blankly at Black Star for a second before starting to smile and laugh causing Black Star to look at her in confusion.

"Uh, this isn't supposed to be funny you did hear me correctly, right?" Black Star asked as Maka continued to snicker.

"Oh I heard you Black Star. I just think it's funny that you would accuse me of being Emerald of all people when you don't have any evidence to even back it up!" Maka stated as her giggling calmed down.

"This isn't a joke! I could call Soul right now on my phone and let him know everything I saw today!" Black Star snapped as he took his phone out to show he was serious.

Maka only grinned. "Oh go ahead and call him! What are you going to tell him? Hey Soul I just saw Maka playing the sax don't ask me how she knows how to play or how I knew it was her I'm just going off of what I think I saw!" Maka finished sarcastically.

Black Star frowned; maybe he should have thought this better through than just accusing her without proper evidence to back up his claims.

"You know I'm not even good with music, so it's pretty dumb even for you to think that I would be her." Maka huffed out before turning back around to head home.

"Hey hold on, we're not done talking yet! I may not have the proper information to prove that you're Emerald, but you can't deny that earlier I saw you with Hiro and that one guy also!" Black Star retorted.

Maka cursed under her breathe. "Just how long have you been following me around anyways?"

"AHA! So you don't deny it anymore! You were with Hiro and that one guy and you all went into that club where I watched you all perform!" Black Star exclaimed proudly.

"None of that actually proves anything though you realize that, right?" Maka answered tiredly.

"Look we can argue about this all day, but you know I'm not going to let you leave until you tell me the truth. At least tell me why you were spending time with those guys. Are you like dating both of them at the same time?" Black Star questioned becoming a bit serious.

Maka took out her book and promptly hit Black Star's head multiple times.

"Gross! What type of girl do you think I am?! I would never date Hiro and I would sooner move in with my Dad than go out with Travis!" Maka scoffed, scrunching her face in disgust.

"Well you could have just said that instead of just hitting me!" Black Star yelled rubbing his head.

Maka sighed and sat down at a nearby bench. "It's not like I really hang out with them on purpose you know."

Black Star watched her and leaned back against a tree. "So why do you do it then?"

"It started out with Hiro giving me music lessons and me giving him advice on how to stop getting beat up all the time, but then it just got more complicated." Maka explained.

"Wait a minute. So that means you're the reason why I can no longer use Hiro as practice for my new moves!" Black Star cried out shocked.

Maka shrugged. "Don't blame me for Hiro getting tired of constantly being used as a slave. Besides it's not as if his personality got any better. He only became arrogant just like when he had Excalibur with him."

"Well that doesn't really explain that other guy though. Where does he come in?" Black Star questioned.

Maka groaned; that was going to be the more difficult part to reveal. "He's blackmailing me and Professor Stein suggested I keep watch to make sure he doesn't try anything against the school."

"Whoa wait a minute what is he blackmailing you with?" Black Star questioned loudly.

"He has recordings of us talking that he threatens to show all over the school, but I'm pretty sure he has more than just that I don't want him to go around hurting any other students." Maka speculated.

"It's odd for you to just give into his commands just like that. I figured you were stronger than that." Black Star mused.

Maka growled. "I'm not submitting to him! Travis hasn't done anything yet that would make me have to attack him, all he's done for the most part is be an annoying flirt and asked me to be his meister."

"The main point is that he hasn't tried anything YET. You really should be careful around him." Black Star mentioned seriously.

"Great. Is Black Star going to start acting like Soul now and pestering me about Travis's case?" Maka thought wondering if she should have just continued to try to lie.

"No I'm being serious this time! I managed to get a quick peek at his notes and he's into some really creepy stuff." Black Star stated.

"I believe you Black Star, but right now dealing with Travis is something I can handle alone." Maka said confidently.

For a while neither Maka nor Black Star said anything, until Black Star spoke up again a teasing smile growing on his face.

"So you never told me, but why are you doing all this anyways? I mean couldn't you go to Soul for help if you so badly wanted to get better at music?" Black Star asked.

Maka blushed slightly and looked down. "Soul would only make fun of me if he knew I was trying to get better at music so I just wanted to try and get better without his help or him knowing."

Black Star only snorted. "Well looks like you only just complicated matters trying to do that. Like I mentioned earlier you may need to bribe me if you don't want this going around."

Maka scowled and rolled her eyes. "Really Black Star that again?! You should be on my side not Soul's side! I've known you longer therefore I should have top priority as your older friend."

Black Star laughed loudly at that. "Wow Maka even you know that isn't a very good excuse for me to keep your secret! Tell you what though give me a pen and paper and I'll write down some stuff you can do for me!

Maka pouted a bit, but was interested in what Black Star was going to write down so she complied with him and waited a few minutes while he wrote some stuff down.

"Okay here it is you might have to do all of them I haven't really thought it through yet." Black Star stated as he handed the paper back to her.

Maka just chose to ignore him and read over what he had written down.

Option 1: Refer to me as a God or "The Great One" from this point forward

Option 2: Do all of my homework until we graduate from the DWMA

Option 3: Give me all the money you make from being in Masquerade or at least half of it

Option 4: Since Hiro won't do it anymore, be my new person to practice moves on

Maka read over each option before starting to laugh and tear the paper into pieces.

"Black Star why the hell would you even think I would do any of that crap?!" Maka asked as she threw the torn pieces into the trash.

"Hey they weren't that bad! Options 3 and 4 weren't even that horrible!" Black Star retorted, but Maka's glaring just silenced him from saying anymore.

"Look I know I can't stop you from telling Soul or really anyone, but I want to be the one that tells Soul what I've been doing and not anyone else, okay?" Maka stated quietly as she stood back up.

Black Star pondered over what Maka had said before nodding in agreement.

"Okay Maka I won't tell Soul what I found out today, but you have to promise me one thing at the least."

Maka eyes narrowed in doubt. "This better not be something stupid again."

Black Star just shook his head. "All I ask is that at some point you not only tell Soul the truth, but that you will also perform like you did earlier for the rest of us without wearing your mask."

Maka thought it over before smiling and nodding her head. "Okay Black Star I promise someday I'll perform for everyone without my mask, but I can't promise it will be anytime soon."

Black Star only nodded and waved goodbye to Maka as she left to go back home. 'She better keep her promise to perform without her mask. Wait a minute oh crap what I am I supposed to tell Soul about what happened today?! Damn and I really wanted to get that extra 50 bucks also…'

~X~

"Maka you look so tired is everything alright?" Tsubaki asked as she watched Maka lay her head down on the lunch table.

It was only the following day at school, but Maka already felt drained of her energy after not only having to deal with performing and Black Star yesterday, but also having to deal with Ox Ford taunting her when she had incorrectly answered one of Dr. Stein's questions proper battling techniques earlier.

"Tsubaki's right Maka; you've been so tired out lately has Soul been keeping you up all night?" Liz suggested with a smirk.

Maka blushed and sat up properly to shake her head. "No Liz, geez and keep your voice down! He might hear you!" Maka hissed as she looked back at the other table where Soul was sitting with Black Star and Kid. Luckily he hadn't seemed to have heard any of the conversation.

"Oh come on Maka there's no need to keep your relationship a secret from us!" Liz stated with a pout.

"It can't be a secret if the relationship doesn't even exist in the first place!" Maka retorted back.

"I thought you two were together though. Didn't you say you two went out for a date just the other day?" Tsubaki questioned innocently.

"Ah well yeah we did, but it was just to see a movie and walk around town for a bit nothing special." Maka explained, calming down a bit.

"And none of that leaded into anymore kissing or making out?! Gosh both of you move so slow!" Liz cried out.

Maka reddened again and sighed. 'It's not like Soul and I haven't kissed before, but really the situations weren't exactly romantic and afterwards we pretty much acted the same way as we always do around each other.'

"Hey sis you should tell her the plan you had in mind!" Patty exclaimed excitedly.

"Oh that's right thanks for reminding me. Maka you better make sure to clear your schedule this weekend because we're going to spend all of Saturday and Sunday pampering ourselves and spending some time away from the guys!" Liz continued on cheerfully.

Maka just look confused. "We are?"

"Yes we are! I know waiting to tell you until Thursday is a bit late, but it seems like you are always busy doing something after school lately." Liz continued on.

Maka felt a bit guilty at Liz's statement. She had been spending so much time practicing and performing trying to get better at music and do her schoolwork that she ended up neglecting spending time with her friends in the process.

"Did you know anything about this Tsubaki?" Maka questioned as she turned towards her.

Tsubaki nodded her head. "Yes, but I promised Liz I would keep it a surprise until we were all able to meet up."

"Where are we going to go anyways?" Maka asked.

"That's a surprise also! Just make sure to pack a bathing suit, clothes, money, and all the other necessities needed for a weekend getaway oh but don't bring any books you won't be needing those. We'll meet at Gallows Manor at 3 pm tomorrow after school; don't make me have to come find you!" Liz said as she stood up to throw away her trash.

Maka was about to try and get more information out of Liz, but the bell rang signaling the end of the lunch.

'Well I guess there's nothing wrong with taking a break from everything even if it is just for a little bit. Trying to be both Maka and Emerald has tired me out like they all noticed and I really do miss spending time with all of them.'

"Don't worry Liz I'll be there on time." Maka said as they all left for their afternoon classes.

~X~

"So you're going to be spending some weekend at a hotel or villa with Liz and the girls?" Soul asked just to make sure he had the story correct.

"Yeah it came as a surprise to me, but I really do want to see what she had in mind for us to do." Maka replied back as she doubled checked her suitcase to make sure everything was there.

"Well you should be fine since you'll be with all of them, but still be aware of your surroundings since it's going to be area you aren't familiar with." Soul reasoned.

Maka huffed. "Soul stop worrying about me! You know I can protect and take care of myself just fine."

Soul just reached out and grabbed her hand. "Just don't go hooking up and bringing some random guy back home with you! We have enough problems with Blair here!"

Maka scoffed, but squeezed his hand back. "Who do you think I am, my papa?! I'm only going to spend the weekend relaxing probably by the pool and I may check to see if they have a fitness center."

"And anyways I have a perfectly nice guy right here at home with me…" Maka added on looking up with Soul with a blush and a smile.

Soul grinned and lifted her chin up as leaned in to kiss her when suddenly the phone rang causing the two of them to pull apart.

"Ah that's probably Liz making sure I'm on my way." Maka stated in rush as she left her room to pick up the phone.

Soul scowled and followed her out into the living room just as Maka was finishing up the conversation.

"Yes I was just checking to make sure I had everything. I'm about to leave the apartment now. No I did not do that with Soul! Okay see you in little bit." Maka said as hung up.

"So that was Liz I presume?" Soul asked leaning against the kitchen counter.

"Yeah by the way what are you going to do while I'm away this weekend?" Maka asked as she grabbed her suitcase out of her room along with her backpack.

"I'll just spend the weekend with Black Star and Kid it's not like we can't find something to do pass the time." Soul replied back with a shrug.

Maka nodded her head in understanding. "Okay well I guess I'll see you Sunday evening. Don't do anything too crazy while I'm gone!" Maka said as she opened the doors.

"Wait Maka you forgot something!" Soul piped up just as Maka was about to close the door behind her.

Maka turned back around in confusion and opened the door back up. "What could I have forgotten? I made sure I had everything!"

Soul smirked and pulled her in by the arm. "This." He whispered softly before leaning in to gently kiss her on the lips.

Maka dropped her suitcase and wrapped her arms around Soul's neck to allow the kiss to go deeper.

"Soul why do we keep doing this?" Maka whispered once they had pulled apart.

"Doing what?" Soul asked still holding Maka close to him.

"You know what. Flirting and teasing each other like this. I have to know does it really mean anything to you?" Maka asked nervously.

"Well I don't know how you feel, but behind all this teasing and flirting my feelings for you are serious." Soul replied back trying to hide his embarrassment.

Maka smiled feeling relieved. "I feel the same way Soul, but I don't want to rush things with you since this would be my first relationship and we both know how bad they can get."

Soul just lightly kissed her forehead. "Don't worry Maka I don't mind taking things slow with you. Know you better seriously get going before Liz really gets mad."

Maka shook her ahead in agreement as she picked back up her suitcase. "Make sure to lock the doors behind me!"

~X~

"About time you got here Maka what kept you?" Liz grumbled angrily as Maka walked up to them.

"Sorry I just wanted to make sure I had everything packed!" Maka replied back out of breathe.

"Is that the real reason or did you need to give Soul a going away present?" Liz questioned teasingly as Maka reddened.

"Stop it Liz! Anyways can you please tell me now what the name of the hotel is that we're going to?" Maka asked.

"Nope! Now come on the limo is already here to take us to the resort." Liz stated excitedly as she grabbed her by the hand to pull her inside.

"Wait a limo? This trip isn't going to be expensive is it?" Maka asked once they were all settled inside.

"Don't worry! Any expenses have already been paid for by Kid or I will just use his credit card in the worst case scenario!" Liz replied back settling into the soft cushions of the limo.

Maka sighed and shook her head. 'I guess it shouldn't surprise me that Liz would abuse the new income Kid gets as being Shinigami.'

The rest of the ride to the hotel was rather quiet and peaceful. Maka spent the time chatting about random things that had happened over the week with everyone or just sleeping.

"Hey Tsubaki do you know how far this hotel is from Death City?" Maka asked after about an hour had passed.

"I think Liz had mentioned earlier that it was about 2 hours outside of Death City so we should reach there in about another hour." Tsubaki replied back.

Maka sighed and turned her head to look back outside the window. "Oh I wish I could just take out a book to read right now, but I promised Liz I would find other things to do to pass the time." Maka thought in boredom.

After deciding to take another nap, Maka was awakened to the sound of Patty's yelling at her to wake up.

Maka yawned and stretched her arms as she woke up and followed everyone out of the limo. Maka's eyes widened as she took in the scenery of the hotel. It was huge with many connected buildings.

"Wow if it looks this good on the outside than I wonder how it will look on the inside!" Maka thought in excitement.

"Maka this is the Peppermill Resort Spa and Casino we are going to make this a weekend we will never forget! Liz stated as she grabbed her luggage and walked inside. After everyone was properly checked in, Liz managed to sweeten the deal by getting everyone their own personal room, the only problem was that they were scattered throughout the different towers that the hotel contained.

"So where is everybody at just so we can have some place where we can meet up at?" Maka asked as she looked at the map the concierge had provided them with.

"I'm in the Peppermill Tower." Tsubaki stated glancing at her room key.

"I'm in the Peppermill North Wing." Liz said as she read over the spa features.

"I'm in in Peppermill West Wing." Patty said gazing at the chandeliers.

"And I'm in the Tuscany Tower." Maka said finishing things off.

"So did you guys just want to rest up a bit before meeting up for dinner again like at 8 since it's a little past 5 right now." Tsubaki suggested.

"That sounds good to me I want to check out what free stuff they have in the rooms for us!" Liz stated walking in direction of the north wing.

"Hey wait for me sis I'm heading in that direction also!" Patty called out running after her.

"Well I'm on the fourth floor of the Peppermill Tower, but according to the map Tuscany Tower is just a short walk from the North and West Wings." Tsubaki said

"Yeah I see that too I guess I'll see you later then for dinner." Maka replied back as the two parted ways.

Maka made her way down the walkway just taking in the sites when she accidently bumped into someone.

"Oh I'm sorry I was looking where I was going!" Maka apologized quickly.

"It's no problem Maka." A familiar voice replied back.

Maka's eyes widened in dismay as she recognized the owner of the voice.

"Travis what the hell are you doing here?" Maka spat out.

"Oh Maka, you didn't honestly think you could get away from your life as Emerald or just keep me hidden from your friends forever, did you?" Travis stated smoothly.

"I don't know what in your sick head caused you to decide to stalk us here, but I won't let you do anything to harm my friends or any of the guests here!" Maka hissed coldly.

"Oh I would be worried more about your own safety than the safety of your friends. After all I finally have you in the situation I've been waiting for and Soul finally won't be a distraction for you…" Travis said mischievously.

Author's Note: That's it for Chapter 16, let me know what you think with a review and as always thanks for reading!


	17. Toxic Encounters

Chapter 17: Toxic Encounters

"Even if Soul is miles away, I won't let you ruin any of my weekend plans!" Maka snapped shoving Travis aside to walk away from him.

"Alright then, but don't say I didn't warn you." Travis whispered.

Maka growled and turned back around ready to just pummel Travis's face, but noticed he had already disappeared amongst the crowds of people.

'Great. This weekend getaway was supposed to be my chance to relax and get away from all the stress in my life lately, but now I'm going to be worried about not only keeping my secret safe, but keeping my friends and myself out of danger.'

Maka sighed and grouchily stomped towards her room. After getting some help from a passing bellboy, Maka was able to finally find her room located at the top of the tower.

"Wow you really do get an amazing view way up here!" Maka whispered to herself as admired Nevada's mountainous landscape from her window.

"Though I have to admit this is a lot of space for just one person." Maka mumbled turning back around to observe the room.

Tuscany Tower was based on the Tuscan luxury of Italy that was reflected in the velvet red bedding and linens of the pillows on her bed and the Italian portraits that hung around the walls. The Florence Suite that Maka was even in had an additional mini living room area for guests to hang out in.

Maka plopped down on the bed and snuggled into the soft sheets. 'It would be nice if Soul was here with me, but I'm sure he would get bored and find all the stuff Liz had planned for us to do to be uncool.' Maka mused to herself with a smile.

Maka's cheeks reddened as she then remembered back to the moment she and Soul had shared just before she had left. "If Soul was here with me right now than it would just be us two alone and we could take advantage of that European tub and maybe even…" Maka suddenly shook her head cutting off her thoughts.

"Oh I've been spending way too much time around Liz and Blair if I'm starting to get perverted thoughts like that!" Maka whispered to herself rubbing her flushed cheeks.

For the next two hours, Maka spent her time lazily reading through the hotel's guidebook until her cell phone suddenly buzzed next to her. Maka picked it up and realized somebody had texted her.

Hey Maka were about to head to dinner now so meet us all in the lobby. – Tsubaki

Maka smiled and placed the book back on the desk as she headed out of room.

"Hey were you guys able to check out the stunning views of the sunset outside?" Maka questioned as she approached her friends.

"Oh I was much too busy reading over the Spa specials and the shopping centers this hotel offers!" Liz stated giddily.

"Sis did you see that they offered 24-hour room service, I'm going to order so much!" Patty stated just as excited.

Maka watched the two sisters chat with each other in amusement before turning towards Tsubaki.

"So did you find anything interesting that you might want to check out?" Maka asked.

"Hmm maybe lounge by the poolside and like Liz mentioned do a bit of shopping." Tsubaki said casually.

"Hey guys let's finish talking over dinner I'm starving!" Liz spoke up, interrupting Maka and Tsubaki's conversation.

"What restaurant did you want to eat at anyways?" Maka asked following Liz's lead.

"There's this casual restaurant called Oceano that serves seafood that I would like to try out." Liz replied back.

Once everyone got seated and took in the aquatic atmosphere of the restaurant, a waiter came by and took their orders.

"I'll have the Chilean Sea Bass." Liz said looking at the specialties section.

"I think I want to try the soup." Maka said also looking under the same section.

"I'm more in the mood for a sandwich so I want the Oceano Club Sandwich and make sure to bring extra fries!" Patty said cheerfully.

"Um I just want the Oceano Salad, I'm not that hungry." Tsubaki said quietly.

"Alright thanks ladies for your orders, your food will be ready in a few minutes; just let me now if you need anything else!" Their waiter said happily before taking the menus back from them and walking away.

"We sure are spending a lot of money and it's only our first night here!" Maka mentioned thinking about how expensive most of the items were.

"Maka I told you already that there's no need to worry about the prices of anything it's all already been paid for!" Liz stated with a grin.

Maka just sighed and shrugged her shoulders as she took a sip from her Iced Tea.

Not even a few minutes had passed when suddenly Liz was sending her a teasing grin.

Maka arched an eyebrow. "Why are you giving me a look like that?"

"Don't look now, but I can see a guy on the other end of the restaurant checking you out right now." Liz said with a smirk.

Maka's eyes widened a bit in horror as she felt her heart speed up. "Oh crap that might be Travis!" Maka thought worriedly.

Quickly, Maka took a brief glance behind her and realized with dread that indeed the guy Liz was talking about was Travis.

Travis flicked his messy black hair out of his eyes and smiled when he met Maka's eyes. He smirked and sent her a small wave before Maka hurriedly turned back around.

"Look at you Maka already attracting the attention of guys on your first night here!" Liz stated joyfully.

Maka only groaned. "I don't want his attention! And you know I like Soul anyways!" Maka grumbled angrily.

"Well's it's about time that you at least admitted that out loud! And if you don't want him than at least let him get to know me better!" Liz continued on with grin.

"No!" Maka snapped angrily causing all 3 of her friends to look at her in confusion.

Maka frowned and settled down. "That guy is creepy and into some weird stuff! I don't want any of us to be close to him."

Liz didn't look convinced. "How do you even know all that? Isn't this the first time you've even seen this guy?"

Maka sighed and just shook her head. "No, I've seen him a few times at school; he's flirted with me before and asked me to be his meister. You just have to trust me that he's not a normal guy."

"Maka aren't you being a little too quick to judge him?" Tsubaki questioned thinking over everything Maka had just told them.

"Yeah! I agree with Tsubaki just because he doesn't fit up to the standards you have Soul on doesn't mean he's a bad person!" Liz stated.

Maka huffed. "What standards do I put Soul on? He's lazy, rude, constantly teases me –"

"Yet none of that has seemed to stop you from still liking him has it?" Liz pointed out cutting Maka off.

Maka blushed and looked down. She really had no come back for that.

"Anyways there's no use trying to stop that guy since he's already heading our way!" Patty chirped out.

Maka immediately glanced back up and paled as she watched Travis stroll towards their table.

"There really is no getting away from this guy is there?" Maka thought in frustration.

~X~

"Soul I'm bored let's find some game to play!" Blair pouted out trying to pounce on Soul.

"Blair I'm never going to be in the mood to play any of the 'games' that you have in mind go bother someone else!" Soul stated grouchily as he pushed Blair away.

Blair huffed before sauntering away. "Fine, but I'm sure you wouldn't mind playing a 'game' if Maka was the one asking instead of me!" She finished teasingly before heading out the door.

Soul sighed and brushed a hand through his snowy white hair. It was only Friday night and even though only a few hours had passed and he would never admit it out loud, he silently wished Maka was still around to keep him company in the apartment.

Soul was lazily finishing up washing up the plate he had used for dinner when an idea popped into his head.

'Oh yeah, I still haven't called Black Star yet to see if he found out any information involving Maka and that other creep!'

Soul wiped off his hands and took out his cellphone to call him. It took a few rings before he heard Black Star's familiar voice yell into the phone.

"Hey, you are interrupting me in the middle of an important training session this , had better be good!" Black Star yelled from the other end of the line.

Soul scoffed and moved the phone away from his ringing ears before bringing it back.

"Look man I just wanted to ask if you were able to find anything from when you followed Maka around the other day." Soul asked calmly.

The other end of line grew quiet for a minute and Soul began to think for a second that Black Star had either just hung up on him or they had a bad connection when suddenly he spoke up again.

"Nah man Maka doesn't really do much while you're busy training with Kid. She went to the library and checked out a book and stopped by a café for a smoothie and then from what I saw she just went home." Black Star lied.

"What about that other guy with the black hair and grey eyes? Was he anywhere near her again?" Soul questioned gruffly.

"Whoa Chill man. All I was able to find out on that guy was that he's into some creepy stuff and that he knows more about people than he lets on." Black Star stated honestly.

"Well I figured that much out already. You really suck at investigating people! None of anything you just said really gave me any clue to what's really been up with Maka lately." Soul stated angrily.

"Don't take your problems out on me! Guess you'll have to find some other way to find out what's going on with Maka." Black Star snapped back before hanging up.

'Sorry Man, but I promised Maka I would keep her double life a secret. I just hope she doesn't plan on keeping a secret for too much longer…' Black Star thought to himself before going back to his push-ups.

Soul growled and nearly slammed his phone against the wall in anger, but just sighed and sat back down on the couch.

After a few more minutes had passed, Soul had gone back to just flipping through channels when suddenly a knock at the door broke him out his thoughts.

'Who would be knocking on the door at this time of day?' Soul mused glancing at the clock. It was currently a little past 8:30 pm.

The banging at the door only increased so Soul forced himself to sit up and at least check and see who it was.

'Blair probably forgot her keys to get in again.' Soul thought grouchily as he peeked through the keyhole of the door.

To Soul's confusion though, he saw a girl he didn't recognize looking anxious.

Soul sighed and was tempted to just leave the girl out there, but she didn't look like she planned to leave anytime soon so he just decided to open the door.

"Um can I help you?" Soul asked not sure what this girl wanted.

Rachel just looked at Soul up and down before squealing in excitement. "Wow I can't believe that I actually get to be this close to you again and as myself this time!" She babbled out before making her way inside.

Soul frowned becoming even more annoyed. This random girl that he didn't even know had just made her way inside his apartment without even being allowed in first!

Soul growled and followed the girl into the living room. Whoever this girl was, she fit the bill for being one of his typical fan-girls who liked to dress basically half naked in short tank tops and miniskirts to try to appeal to him.

"Nice apartment you got here! Maka isn't around is she? I know how annoying she can be at times." Rachel said snottily as she took a seat and looked around to make sure Maka wasn't in hearing range.

"Oh really? Well I would rather be dealing with Maka right now than some random slut who thinks she's going to get lucky with me tonight. You can just see your way out." Soul sneered out coldly pointing back to the open door behind him.

Rachel looked taken aback. This wasn't how she expected her plans to go. She had even managed to sneak away from the girl's dorms and her friends questioning to try this plan out!

"Maybe I should have just waited on Travis's orders before making any moves." Rachel thought nervously before straightening up.

"Wait hold on I have some information I'm sure you would like to know concerning your precious meister Maka!" Rachel stated cowering a bit under Soul's glaring.

Soul snorted. "Like hell you do. Just get out of my apartment before you really try my patience."

Rachel pouted. "Even if the information I have involved Maka's case with Travis?"

Soul eyes narrowed in suspicion. "How the hell do you know about that?"

Rachel smirked and feigned confusion. "Wait you didn't know about it? Well I guess Maka was too nervous to tell you after all…"

"Whatever you are trying to pull won't work." Soul stated in boredom, but inwardly what Rachel had said had made him a bit curious. Black Star had pretty much been no help to him, but that didn't mean he should trust what this random girl had to say though.

Rachel scoffed and sighed. "Well I was going to give you more details on why Maka spends time around Travis, but I guess you don't care about what she does then right?"

Soul rolled his eyes. "I already know that Travis is into some disturbing stuff and he isn't someone you can trust so Dr. Stein asked Maka to make sure he doesn't try anything against the school."

Rachel just shook her head. "Oh Soul, that's only part of the story, but I have the rest of the details of the story if you really want them."

Soul growled and bit back a curse. "What's the catch?"

Rachel gave Soul a sickeningly sweet smile. "The only catch is that I want you to go out with me on Sunday night."

~X~

"Hi ladies! It's nice to see other students from the DWMA taking a mini-vacation also!" Travis stated with a laugh that caused everyone to smile except Maka who only sneered and rolled her eyes.

"What area of the hotel are you staying at anyways?" Liz asked flirtatiously.

"I'm in the Tuscany Tower." Travis replied back with a wink.

Maka resisted the urge to gag or just simply stab Travis with her knife. "Of course this bastard would make sure he would be in the same area of the hotel as me! He planned everything ahead of time."

"Did you travel here with your partner?" Tsubaki asked politely.

"No unfortunately I'm still meister-less unless Maka here would mind taking that place!" Travis stated with a grin placing an arm on Maka's shoulder while he sneakily dropped a blue pill into Maka's drink.

Maka grabbed her fork and promptly jabbed it straight into Travis's hand causing him to back away and clutch his hand in pain.

"You'll pay for that!" He whispered quietly enough so that only Maka heard him.

"Yeah well stop trying to show off to my friends you asshole!" Maka whispered back just as pissed.

"Maka did you really need to hurt him like that? He was only doing some harmless flirting!" Liz stated checking to see if Travis was okay.

Maka just shrugged her shoulders not really caring that her friends were giving her disapproving looks at the moment.

While Liz checked his wound, Travis gazed carefully and watched to see if Maka would take another sip of her Iced Tea.

"Well I guess Maka didn't stab you too deeply since I don't see any blood." Liz stated after checking both sides of his hand.

"Hmm? Oh okay then well I guess I'll see you around ladies enjoy your dinner!" Travis said turning back his attention to all four of them.

Maka huffed. "Hopefully we don't see you for the rest of the time that we're here!"

Travis only walked away and hid himself away in a corner of the restaurant to watch them eat the rest of their meal. The pill he had developed had already dissolved into Maka's drink. Now all she needed to do was just take a drink from it again and his plans would finally be in motion.

As all of the girls meals arrived, everyone went back to happily eating and talking. Travis waited impatiently for Maka to take a drink again and grinned when she finally took a few sips again after eating about half of her salmon.

'Finally I'm one step closer to adding Maka's grigori soul to my collection! Now as long as that idiot Rachel keeps Soul busy, not only will Maka see him for a cheater, but she'll definitely start to trust me and see in a different light with the help of that pill.'

X~

The following Saturday morning, Maka woke up with a slight headache that she brushed off as still feeling tired from staying up half the night talking and hanging out with the girls.

Stretching, Maka got out of bed, took a quick shower, and changed out of her pajamas. Maka had hoped that by eating breakfast her nagging headache would go away, but it only seemed to persist.

"Hey Maka are you feeling all right? You aren't still mad about what happened last night are you?" Tsubaki questioned.

"I'm fine Tsubaki. I just have a small headache that's all." Maka replied back rubbing her forehead.

"Ooh you should come with me to the spa then! We can both get manicures and pedicures that I'm sure that will make your headache go away!" Liz stated.

"Okay! Let's meet back in the lobby in an hour I need to get my bathing suit from my room and a towel." Maka replied back.

"Sounds good to me! Tsubaki what are you and sis going to do?" Liz asked turning towards Patty and Tsubaki.

"I'll be exploring the hotel and will probably be by the pool if you need me!" Tsubaki said.

"I'm probably going to sneak into the casinos and try my luck at poker!" Patty said grinning at the thought of making millions.

As Maka was expecting, Travis was waiting for her just down the hall as she walked back to her room again.

"Enjoying yourself Maka?" Travis asked calmly.

"Ugh why can't you just leave me alone? Hiro doesn't blackmail me for getting help from him with music so why do you have to blackmail me and mess with me just because I've talked to you and spent a little bit of my time with you?" Maka snapped.

"Well for one don't compare me to Hiro who's just a complete loser and second of all you have something that I want and threatening to ruin your reputation or embarrass you is just one way I can get it." Travis replied back easily.

"Wait a minute what could I have that you would want? Money? Fame? I only get those things as Emerald really and not as Maka!" Maka hissed before clutching her head in pain a bit more.

Travis smirked. "Are you feeling alright Maka? Looks like your head is really bothering you."

"I'm fine!" Maka snapped angrily.

Travis sighed. "It's too bad that you continue resist my help so much. You'll definitely begin to regret it once you see Soul for who he truly is."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Maka asked.

"The reason you continue to keep Emerald a secret is because you want to get better at music without him making fun of you for it and you don't want him to know you had to work with Hiro and eventually me to improve right?" Travis asked.

Maka's eyes narrowed in suspicion, but she nodded in response.

"Well guess what? It's pointless to try and impress Soul with your musical abilities or anything really when he already has another girl on the side that he's kept a secret from you." Travis said with a smug grin.

Maka only scoffed. "I know you like to make up crap, but this might be your most desperate attempt yet."

Travis just shrugged his shoulders. "You don't have to believe me, but you'll see once you come back on Sunday what I really mean." And with that he walked off laughing.

Maka huffed and tried to push what Travis said out of her head once she reached her room and began to change into her swim suit.

'I have no reason to believe anything that Travis says he's just trying to mess with me as usual and make Soul look bad.' Maka reasoned to herself trying to ignore the sudden sharp aching of her head and the brief passing thought that Travis could be right.

Author's Note: That's it for Chapter 17, let me know what you think with a review and as always thanks for reading!


	18. Heartache That Lasts Into The Night...

Chapter 18: Heartache That Lasts Into The Night…

"Miss are you alright you seem to be a bit tense." The masseuse stated as she massaged Maka's shoulders.

"I'm fine I just have a lot on my mind that's all." Maka replied back still thinking about what Travis had told her.

"Is there any particular place you want me to focus on massaging maybe that will help?" The masseuse asked.

"Um I guess my head since I have a slight headache right now." Maka stated rubbing her forehead.

"Okay well just try to relax and ease your mind and I'll do my best!" She stated as applied lotion to Maka's back and rubbed it in.

After about an hour had passed and Maka had received the hot stone treatment and full body massage, it was time for her to meet back up with Liz in the salon area to have the manicure and pedicure.

"Hey Maka did you enjoy your massage? I bet your headache is gone now huh?" Liz asked as they both took a seat.

"Yeah it barely hurts now actually I feel really refreshed!" Maka lied. 'The truth is though that the massage and even the small bit of time I spent in the whirlpool bath didn't really help my headache it still feels the same, but I don't want Liz to worry about me.'

"That's great! I knew it was a good idea for us to come here!" Liz stated happy Maka's headache seemed to be gone.

As two new therapists came over and set Maka and Liz's toes into warm water to begin the pedicure, Maka sighed and resisted the urge to rub her head in irritation.

"This headache is just not going away! I guess I should just take some medicine that I luckily packed with me and take a small nap before we meet up for lunch again." Maka mused to herself.

Once Maka got back into her room, she immediately searched through her suitcase for the Tylenol that she had packed. Maka took out two pills from the container and grabbed a bottle of water from the mini fridge to swallow it down.

As Maka climbed back into bed, she took a side glance at her watch. It was currently 11:24 am.

'Okay Liz and the others said they wanted to meet up for lunch at 1 pm. So that gives me a little over an hour to at least get some sleep in.'

Maka tossed and turned for a while, trying to make herself comfortable in the sheets, it was hard to get to sleep when her mind was keeping her awake with silly thoughts.

"Why can't I get what Travis said out of my thoughts?! Soul wouldn't hurt me like that, not after all we've been through together, Travis is just jealous…

~X~

A loud banging at her door jolted Maka out of her sleep. Maka jumped up from her bed in fright as she took in her surroundings and realized she was just back in her hotel room.

Maka wiped the cold sweat from her face and placed a hand on her chest to calm her racing heart.

"Oh thank goodness. That was just a dream, even though it seemed so real." Maka thought to herself in relief.

Maka turned her attention back to the door and realized someone was still banging on it. Maka looked through the peephole and realized it was Liz in the others.

"Why are they at my room right now?" Is it already time to eat lunch?" Maka thought to herself as she glanced at her watch.

To Maka's surprise, it was no longer now late in morning, but the afternoon with the time currently being 1:05 pm.

"Oh crap I was supposed to have gotten up and changed by now!" Maka whispered to herself as she opened the door.

"Hey Maka what took you so long to open the door? We're ready to eat lunch now, but it looks like you still haven't changed out of your swimsuit yet." Tsubaki stated as she took in Maka's appearance.

"Yeah sorry about that. As soon as Liz and I finished up at Spa Toscana I just went back to my room to take a nap and I guess I lost track of time." Maka said feeling a little embarrassed.

"It's okay we'll wait for you, but you should wash your face too while you get changed I can still see a bit of drool by your lips!" Patty said with a laugh.

Maka quickly wiped her lips and the area around her mouth of any leftover saliva. "I'll be out in like 10 minutes I promise!" Maka said closing the door behind her to try and find a quick change of clothes.

After Maka washed off her face, she changed out of her swimsuit and decided to wear just a simple light blue shirt with some tan shorts. Maka put back on her sandals and grabbed her hotel room key as she headed back out the doors to greet her friends again.

"Sorry I kept you guys waiting!" Maka apologized as all 4 of them walked back down the hallway to go back to the elevators.

"It's no problem Maka. You must have been having quite a nice dream about Soul though to be drooling like that right?!" Liz asked teasingly.

"Ooh Sis good point! I bet Maka's dream involved Soul and her in a make-out session that we interrupted!" Patty added in with a giggle.

Maka blushed and pouted. "Tsubaki make them stop teasing me! My dream wasn't even like that!" Maka huffed out looking to Tsubaki for support.

Tsubaki tried to hold back a grin, but failed. "I don't know Maka we were knocking for a while, but you didn't answer. I kind of think you were having a 'nice' dream about Soul also!"

Maka sighed and shook her head. "Why are they all assuming that I dream about Soul that way?! Well I have before, but that's not the point! That dream I just had was more like a never ending nightmare I thought I would never wake up from…"

~X~

"So since we went to Oceano's last time, where should we go this time?" Maka asked once they were back in the lobby of the hotel.

"Well I picked the restaurant last time, so you guys can decide what you want I'm not in a particular mood for anything." Liz stated glancing around.

"Would you guys like to try Biscotti's Café, they seem to serve a good variety of international foods." Tsubaki suggested.

"That sounds fine with me let's go check out their lunch menu." Maka said while Patty nodded next to her in agreement.

Once everyone had made themselves comfortable and ordered a meal and drink, Liz spoke up again.

"So ladies how should we spend the rest of our weekend here at the Peppermill Resort?" She asked.

"I still want to check out the fitness center and do some shopping at the stores." Maka said thinking about the areas of the hotel she hadn't explored or been to yet.

"I'm going to check out what they have for entertainment for tonight, but in the meantime I guess I'll hang out by the pool and try and work on my tan." Liz mused.

"Since I didn't earn that much money by playing at the casinos, I'm going to try and see if I can win myself a giraffe from the arcade center!" Patty stated in excitement.

"Um I still haven't gone shopping yet either, so we can go together whenever you are ready Maka." Tsubaki stated.

Maka smiled and nodded her head in agreement and winced slightly when she felt her head throb again in pain. Luckily none of her friends had seemed to notice her distress and were still talking happily about how the resort offered so many activities.

~X~

Maka had been running on the treadmill for about 30 minutes, when she noticed Travis walk in the doors out of the corner of her eye.

Maka growled and cursed under her breathe as she tried to ignore Travis get on the treadmill next to her and begin a simple jog.

"I see you're working up quite a sweat there Maka! That's good I'm glad you like to keep in shape even when you are on vacation!" Travis stated with a smile.

Maka scoffed and looked away from him. "Don't you have other people you can go bother?"

"Hmm No! Anyways I'm just trying to be nice to you Maka and give you some advice is that so wrong?" Travis questioned with a pout.

"Yes because I've told you to leave me alone multiple times! I only hang out with you when I'm Emerald and I'm Maka right now! Even when I'm Emerald the only reason I hang out with you is because you're blackmailing me!" Maka snapped.

"I noticed that you treat Emerald and yourself as different people even though you're the same person. Emerald is pretty, talented in music, and popular. She seems to be everything you're not!" Travis mused with a chuckle.

Maka cracked her knuckles, but didn't respond back immediately. "What's your point?"

"My point is maybe you should try and be more like Emerald as Maka or else you're going to lose Soul to someone who has all the qualities that Emerald has!" Travis finished with a grin before turning off the treadmill and walking away.

"What was his point in coming here? Did he honestly just come inside here just to spite me and make fun of the fact that Emerald has skills that I don't have?" Maka thought in confusion and frustration before feeling her head pound again in pain.

Travis smirked as he left out of the fitness center and returned back to his room. "I see that the pill I developed has already been giving Maka headaches that will only increase the more I stress her out. Good, the pill's effects grow stronger the more the host experiences stressful situations and emotions. I'm sure by tomorrow evening the pill's effects will reach their highest peak, and once that starts the next symptoms will start to appear that will eventually lead her to me…"

Once Maka had finished her workout and took a quick shower, she met up with Tsubaki again to go shopping. They decided to first browse around Bella Bottega, which specialized in women's clothing and accessories.

"Hey Maka what do you think of this hat? Do you think it matches well with this purse?" Tsubaki questioned trying on purple hat with a white ribbon wrapped around it.

"Huh? Oh yeah it looks great on you Tsubaki and it goes well with that cute purse!" Maka said slightly distracted.

"Are you alright Maka? You seem like you've been having a lot on your mind lately. Is it anything that you might want to talk about?" Tsubaki asked with concern.

"Uh well not really I'm just wondering what Soul is up to at home that's all." Maka stated partially telling the truth.

Tsubaki smiled and nodded her head in understanding. "You shouldn't worry about him. I'm sure he's just hanging out with Black Star right now playing basketball or video games."

"Yeah you're probably right, it's just that Soul and I recently became a couple so I really want it to work out you know?" Maka stated twiddling her fingers and looking down in embarrassment.

Tsubaki squealed slightly. "Oh well no wonder Liz's teasing was making you blush so much! Come on let's go check out the souvenir shop and the Men's store. Maybe we can find something you can get for Soul and I can get for Black Star."

Maka smiled and followed Tsubaki's lead into the nearby stores. Unfortunately after about shopping for over an hour, neither Tsubaki nor Maka found anything in particular that Soul or Black Star would like. The shirts they had were either too expensive or were simply not the style of clothes they would like to wear. Eventually Maka just settled on a black headband she found and Tsubaki picked out a simple white shirt that she knew Black Star might use to work out in.

Maka looked over their gift wrapped items in worry.

"Do you think Soul is going to even like this gift?" Maka asked not wanting Soul to just throw it into his closet.

Tsubaki shrugged, but gave Maka an encouraging smile. "I don't know, but I'm pretty sure Soul will be happy with any gift you got him!"

~X~

The rest of the weekend that Maka and the girls spent at Peppermill Resort was relaxing. Maka was able to enjoy swimming in the pools, trying her luck out at the slot machines, and even appreciate the musical entertainment all without having to deal with Travis popping up out of nowhere again.

By the time it was Sunday at 3 pm, Maka was partially even wishing that the weekend could last just a little bit longer, but unfortunately all good things come to an end.

As Maka slept in the limo ride back to Death City, a sudden bump in the road caused her to jump slightly and look around in alarm.

Maka frowned. Everyone was already sleeping peacefully and here she was awake again just from a small jerking of the car.

"It's going to be hard for me to get back to sleep. I've been having trouble sleeping ever since I had that nightmare yesterday and this constant headache. Maybe getting some sleep in my own bed tonight and seeing Soul again will help me feel better…"

The first stop once the limo made it back to Death City was Maka's apartment. Maka got out of the car and grabbed her luggage with the help of the driver.

"Thanks for the great weekend you guys I really had fun!" Maka said once she made sure she had all her baggage.

Liz rolled down the window and smiled. "Yeah it was an awesome weekend we should do it again real soon, but for now we'll see you tomorrow at school!" And with that they all waved goodbye to her as the limo drove away.

Maka made her way inside her apartment and looked inside. It appeared nobody was home at the moment.

"Soul? Blair? Are you home? I'm back now!" Maka yelled out into the apartment, but got no response back.

Maka sulked a bit. She expected Blair to be out possibly at work, but it wasn't like Soul to be out on a Sunday evening.

Maka sighed and went into her room to unpack her clothes. "Maybe I should send him a text or call him just to see where he is." Maka thought pulling out her phone to dial Soul's number.

Maka waited a few minutes listening to the dial tone before she got sent to voice mail. Frowning, Maka decided to text him since he wasn't picking up his phone.

Hey Soul I'm home now, so when you get this message just text me back or call me.-Maka

After Maka finished unpacking her clothes, she walked back out into the living room. It seemed that at least Soul had done the chores he needed to do while she was gone because the dishes were washed and food was in the fridge.

"Well I don't want to just sit in here alone. Maybe I can find where Soul is by going out to look for him." Maka reasoned aloud grabbing her keys and heading back outside.

Maka tried every place she figured Soul might be at, she tried the music stores, the mall, and even called Kid and Black Star just to ask if he was at their places, but nothing.

By now it was little past 6:00 pm and Maka still had no answer from Soul and was about to give up and head back home when she suddenly heard a familiar voice at a restaurant nearby.

~X~

"Damn it will you just tell me already if you know anything about Travis and Maka or are you just going to keep yapping away about crap I don't care about!" Soul snapped angrily at Rachel.

"Oh come on Soul lighten up! I mean I dressed up so nicely for you and all you've been doing is complaining!" Rachel said pouting and trying to entice Soul by having worn a tight skirt and top that barely covered her breasts.

Soul scoffed and resisted the urge to bang his head against the table. "I'm complaining because you won't tell me what I want to know! I'm starting to think you don't know anything about Travis or Maka and just wanted a date; well it's over now I'm going to home." Soul spat out getting up from his seat.

"Wait Soul don't leave yet!" Rachel cried out grabbing him by his leather jacket.

"Let go of my jacket!" Soul snapped out coldly. 'I bet Maka's gotten home by now anyways and is wondering where I am.'

Rachel still wouldn't let go of his jacket, so Soul was forced to turn around, but as he did his heart practically stopped when he saw Maka staring right at him and Rachel in shock.

"Maka what are you doing here?! Wait I can explain this situation don't run off!" Soul stated jumping off the patio of where he was to get close to Maka.

Maka broke out of her stupor and moved away from Soul's touch.

"Why are you out with her right now?! Don't you know I've been looking everywhere for you and here I find you out on a date with one of your fan-girls." Maka stated coldly.

"Listen to me Maka. I wasn't out on date with her, I just wanted to ask her a question." Soul stated.

Maka looked skeptical. "Oh really? It didn't look like that to me. I've been watching her coming onto you and you weren't stopping her!" Maka replied back with a hiss.

"And what did you need to ask her about anyways that was so damn important?" Maka added on.

"Err well I just wanted to know if she knew anything about you and Travis because she said she had seen you two talking to each other before and Black Star was no help so I-" Maka suddenly cut Soul off with a slap.

Soul touched his stinging cheek as he looked at Maka's hurt and disappointed expression.

"Soul I told you already I don't spend time with Travis on purpose. I do it not only because Professor Stein asked me to, but because I don't want him to cause trouble to any other students. He's my problem to handle alone." Maka whispered quietly as she felt tears coming into her eyes, but continued on.

"I can't believe you! Not only did you go behind my back to do this, but you had to ask Black Star to follow me around and ask that slut for help of all the people you could have gone to!" Maka finished with a sigh.

Soul frowned. "I did it for a reason though! I'm just worried about you! You never did give me the full story when I ask you about Travis or you just avoid the topic!"

Maka glared at him and clenched her fists. "Well sorry I want to keep some things in my life personal! I don't try and pressure you to talk about things that I know make you uncomfortable like your family particularly, your brother!"

Soul grew quiet and said nothing. A part of him wanted to retort that it wasn't the same, but Maka knew him better than that.

Maka huffed and was about to speak again with Rachel piped up.

"Humph. Soul came here out of his own desire to go out with me Maka. It's not my fault that you're just an ugly flat chested nerd. I'm not sure why Soul even continues to spend time around you when he could have a girl like me!" She sneered out.

Maka's eyes widened as Rachel's words reminded her of what Travis had told her. 'If only you were more like Emerald, pretty and talented in music, maybe then Soul would like you better…'

Maka's head spun as she turned away from Soul. 'Maybe Travis was right. Why did I ever think Soul would like me as Maka, everyone would probably be happier if I was more like Emerald.'

"Stay the hell out of this conversation!" Soul yelled to Rachel who immediately backed off in fear of Soul's wrath.

Soul tried to approach Maka again, but Maka only moved away once more.

"What's wrong with me? Why won't my head stop pounding? I need to get away from here. Away from this situation before I do something I regret." Maka thought in distress.

"Sorry I interrupted your date Soul. You can go back to Rachel now." Maka managed to utter out weakly before running off.

"Wait Maka come back!" Soul cried out running after her, but unfortunately Maka turned a corner and disappeared from his view amongst the crowds.

'Shit. I really screwed things up this time; I shouldn't have tried to meddle in Maka's business…' Soul thought, pissed at himself.

~X~

Soul had assumed that by the time he got back home Maka would have holed herself up in her room, but he found the apartment to be just as empty as when he had first left it.

Soul peeked inside Maka's room and found she had already unpacked most of her stuff, but there was no trace of her in room except the lingering scent of the perfume and lotion she liked to use.

Hours passed and Soul stayed up waiting for Maka to return back home, but by the time the clock had struck midnight, Soul realized that Maka probably wasn't going to come back home tonight.

'There's no point in trying to reach out to her now. I just hope I can make it up to her and that she is at least safe right now…'Soul thought tiredly to himself before going to bed.

Author's Note: That's it for Chapter 18, tell me what you think with a review and as always thanks for reading!


	19. Behind The Facade

Chapter 19: Behind the Façade

"Are you sure it's okay for me to stay here?" Maka asked Hiro wearily.

Hiro took in Maka's slightly disheveled appearance, not sure what would cause her to want to visit his apartment at this hour of the day.

After thinking it over for a minute, Hiro let out a sigh and moved out of the doorway to let Maka in.

Maka took a seat on the sofa and wiped away a few stray tears from her cheeks before sitting up.

"I'm sorry to bug you at such a late hour, but I just didn't feel very comfortable going back home right now." Maka stated with a sigh.

Hiro squirmed in his seat, not sure what he could say to maybe help Maka feel better.

"Uh so can I assume that you possibly got into another argument again with Soul or something?" Hiro questioned not wanting to pry too much into Maka's personal life.

Maka sighed before nodding her head.

"To be honest though, this isn't really about Soul. It's about the people who constantly keep trying to make my life a living hell." Maka said in frustration rubbing her aching head.

"You must mean Soul's fan-girls right?" Hiro guessed.

"It isn't just Soul's fan-girls now. It's been all the problems that have come out of me being Emerald." Maka stated thinking over the past few months.

It was quiet for a few minutes, until Hiro spoke up again.

"So do you want to quit being Emerald then?" Hiro asked unsure of what Maka wanted to do.

"No, I'm not going to quit, but I do need to reevaluate how I've been handling keeping it a secret though." Maka mused laying her head back.

"Well alright then I guess you can sleep on the sofa for tonight. I'll get you a pillow and a blanket." Hiro stated getting up to grab the materials from his closet.

"Thanks Hiro, sorry I'm being so bothersome!" Maka said with a laugh. 'Though I probably won't be getting much sleep tonight, not with the way my head is aching right now…'

Hiro just shrugged his shoulders and yawned. 'I'm not sure what Soul did this time to get Maka to not even want to go home, but hopefully they make up soon. It's really awkward to have her here when we aren't even practicing.'

~X~

The following morning back at Soul and Maka's apartment, Soul found himself awakened by the sunlight that crept in through his windows.

Soul sighed and glanced at his clock. It was currently 8:40 am.

'Crap class starts at 9 am; I'm going to be late! Usually Maka has woken me up by now or even Blair bothering me, but it seems like neither of them are home right now.' Soul thought in irration as he quickly got ready.

As Soul walked out of his room and hastily made some toast he could take with him on the way to school, he noticed Blair in her cat form looking down at her empty dish bowl in confusion.

"Hey Soul where's Maka? Usually she fills my bowl before she leaves for school. Speaking of which shouldn't you have already left by now too?" Blair asked with a pout.

"Err I'm running late I'll just fill up your bowl." Soul stated grumpily as he hurriedly filled Blair's bowl and grabbed his toast.

"Hey wait you still didn't tell me where Maka is! Don't tell me you got into another fight again; where is she?" Blair questioned becoming annoyed as she followed Soul to the door.

"I'll explain later, but right now I'm about to be late!" Soul snapped out as he ran out the door and slammed it behind him.

Blair huffed and walked back to her bowl. 'They definitely must have gotten into some fight; Maka should have definitely returned back from her trip last night.'

As expected, Soul did not make it to class on time and Professor Stein made him stand out in hallway for the first 30 minutes of class.

Soul groaned under his breath as he slouched against the wall.

'Now that I think about before Stein kicked me out, I noticed that Maka wasn't in class either where is she?' Soul thought in confusion.

Once Soul was allowed back into class, he noticed a crumpled up piece of paper by his chair.

Soul glanced at the paper for a second; he wasn't sure if it was meant for him, but he decided to open it once he made sure Professor Stein wasn't looking in his direction.

Hey Man where's Maka at? It's not like her to skip class is she sick or something?

Soul could tell by the handwriting that the note was obviously from Black Star.

Soul gave him a side glance and shrugged his shoulders. 'Even I don't know where he is.' Soul thought, starting to become a bit worried.

After class ended, Soul met back up with the rest of Spartoi.

"So you really don't know where Maka is?" Black Star questioned just wanting to make sure.

Soul sighed and nodded his head. The rest of the group looked concerned for Maka's safety.

"We just saw her yesterday. Where could she have gone?" Liz asked aloud.

"Soul did you happen to say something to Maka that might have caused this?" Kid asked suspiciously.

Soul frowned and thought back over the events that had happened last night.

"We did get into an argument, but I didn't think it would upset her this much. I just wanted to give her time to cool down." Soul stated quietly.

Kid just shook his head in dismay while Liz glared at him.

"Couldn't you have at least called her or texted her to see if she would have responded back?" Black Star asked.

"I did during break, but she never picked up." Soul replied back beginning to feel annoyed by everyone's constant pestering.

Not too far away down the hall, Hiro watched the group continue to discuss options of where Maka could possibly be.

'Wow they are really pressuring Soul for questions! I tried to get Maka up this morning, but she was too busy writing a bunch of notes down that I couldn't understand. I should head back home now just to see if she's already left…'

~X~

As Hiro trudged back up to his apartment door, he heard the faint sound of a saxophone playing behind his door.

Frowning, Hiro opened the door and found Maka sitting on the ground playing her sax.

Maka had been playing a soft jazz melody, but stopped once she heard Hiro come in.

"I'm surprised you're still here. You know your friends are looking for you." Hiro stated as he set his textbooks down on the table.

Maka sighed and stretched. "I know they probably are, but I didn't want to go to school today and become distracted by the problems I've been having with Soul."

Hiro arched an eyebrow and huffed. "Well it sure doesn't look like you've been doing much here either except playing your sax."

Maka ignored Hiro's sarcasm as she took out some notes that she had written earlier.

"I've been only playing the sax for about an hour just to take a break and relax. I've spent a majority of the morning and afternoon now doing some research." Maka stated as she read over her outlines.

"What have you been researching that was so important you couldn't go to school?" Hiro asked curiously.

Maka smirked and set aside her sax. "Just some information on Travis's background. I'm getting tired of the tricks and schemes he's been doing with Rachel."

Hiro looked confused by this, so Maka continued on.

"Look I know you seem to think Travis is this great guy in all, but he's not. He puts up a front so nobody seems to notice that anything is odd about him until it's too late." Maka said.

"How do you know all this? I mean Travis hasn't done anything to you besides flirt with you from what I've seen." Hiro stated still not believing Maka.

Maka laughed bitterly. "Oh he's done way worse than just flirt with me, but that's not the point. It took me a few hours having to put in all those phone calls to the faculty and search through online articles, but I finally got what I needed to know." Maka said with a smug grin.

Hiro was about to question just what Maka had gotten when a sudden knocking at the door interrupted them.

Hiro looked through the peephole of the door then stepped back in slight surprise.

"Who is it?" Maka asked standing up.

"It's Travis. Should I let him in?" Hiro asked a bit unsure of how Maka was going to react.

'Well speak of the devil. As soon as we talk about him, he decides to show up. This time though his appearance isn't really a surprise to me.' Maka mused to herself with a smirk.

"Sure why not? He was going to find a way to annoy me at some point so I rather as well get it over with now." Maka said as Hiro opened the door.

~X~

"So you're still choosing to ignore my phone calls huh Maka?" Soul grumbled to himself as he glared at his phone.

It was about 2 pm in the afternoon and Maka still hadn't responded to any of the calls or texts he had sent her.

'Maybe Maka is out on some assignment, but that doesn't explain why she hasn't picked up her phone yet. It's possible maybe Professor Stein knows something, he is after all apparently the one who assigned her the case involving Travis.' Soul pondered to himself as he got up and walked over to Stein's office.

Stein was about to dissect a still alive rabbit when he heard the knock on his door.

Stein sighed and placed his scalpel down. "It's your lucky day. I guess you get to live for now." Stein whispered to the rabbit as he placed it back into its cage.

"You can come in." Stein stated as he sat back down and watched Soul come in and take a seat across from him.

Stein stared at him blankly. "What brings you to my office Soul? You're not the type of person who likes to stay after school unless you have to."

Soul eyed Professor Stein with the same blank expression he was giving him. "I wanted to know if you knew why Maka was absent from class today."

Stein shrugged, but then smirked slightly. "I don't know where she is, but from Black Star's yelling in the hallways earlier it seems like you're the reason she has disappeared."

Soul sighed, but kept his stern expression. "I know we have our fights here and there, but Maka never usually stays mad for this long. Do you think that possibly Travis did something to her?"

Stein rubbed his chin thoughtfully before he shook his head. "No I doubt Travis did anything to her. Sid informed me that he was in class today and besides that Maka did call my office phone to ask about him."

Soul's eyes widened at this piece of information. "Wait Maka called you earlier?! What did she say to you that she couldn't say to me?"

Stein sighed not wanting to repeat himself, but Soul wasn't going to leave until he told him.

"All she asked about was files on Travis' background and history. When I told her that information was classified and that I couldn't just give it to her unless the situation was serious enough, she explained to me how Travis had been stalking her and messing with her. I figured I would help her out a bit and I gave her some basic information on him and let her find her own way to look up the rest." Stein finished hoping that would appease Soul.

"So what exactly did you find on Travis anyways then?" Soul questioned after taking in everything Stein had said.

Stein grinned. "You'll have to ask Maka for that. I gave you what you wanted to know."

Soul groaned, but then Stein spoke up again.

"We both know Travis is a dangerous person, but let's let Maka handle it for now. I don't know much about what you guys do outside of school, but I think Maka feels as if she doesn't get to experience much challenges ever since the Kishin was sealed again and you became a death scythe."

"That's stupid of her to think that way. Maka and I have gone on missions even after I became a death scythe so why does she feel such a need to handle this one guy alone?" Soul grumbled.

"I don't know. You should be asking Maka these questions instead of me. I don't want to be involved in your odd love/hate relationship." Stein stated before turning back around to stare at his specimens.

'Well I guess that's all the information I'm going to get out of him. It's time now to look for Maka and hopefully make amends.' Soul thought to himself as he exited the DWMA.

~X~

"Hey Hiro what's up and oh Maka what brings you here?" Travis asked as he walked into Hiro's living room and made himself comfortable in chair.

Maka rolled her eyes. "We both already know that you just came here to find me."

Travis smiled and leaned back in the chair. "Well I did hear people talking around the school about how you didn't show up to class and I couldn't help but assume it was because of your broken heart."

Maka grinned and laughed at that. "Who said my heart was broken? I already know you and Rachel like to work together to try and make my life miserable."

Travis feigned confusion and put on an innocent face. "I don't know about that Maka. I mean I didn't force Soul to go out with Rachel, he went out with her on his own."

Maka shrugged, but continued to smile. "It's funny how you like to continue to pretend that you're not up to anything or that you're the only one who can go snooping around, especially after I read about what happened to you at your last school."

Travis's smile immediately began to slip as he turned his full attention to Maka.

"How do you know about that?" He asked coldly.

"Oh I have my methods, but do you really want to talk about it here?" Maka asked with a side glance towards Hiro.

Travis frowned and stood back up. "Alright then, let's take this someplace quieter."

After walking for about 20 minutes, Travis and Maka stopped inside a library.

"So what's this you say about knowing about my past school life?" Travis stated once they were both seated and in a quiet enough area of the library.

Maka shrugged, but kept a serious expression on her face. "Only that you liked to commit acts that ended up getting you expelled. It is one thing to stalk and use people for your own gains, but that wasn't enough for you so you just had to- Maka was suddenly cut off by the slamming of Travis's fist on the table.

"Okay that enough! So you know one of my dirty little secrets; that is not a big deal to me." Travis growled out.

"Oh, but it is a big deal. After all would you like the rest of the NOT class to know what type of person you truly are behind that smile? I'm certain Rachel would definitely like to know what you've done to the past women you've hanged out with." Maka questioned with smirk.

Travis sighed and brushed a hand through his hair in agitation. "Okay so I see that you can play games too Maka. I'll leave you alone like you want me to."

Maka shook her head, not pleased with Travis's answer.

"Not only just me. I want you and Rachel to leave me and my friends alone. The only time I interact with you is as Emerald and that's only once a week. Got it?"

Travis looked like he was ready to argue back, but then just nodded his head in agreement.

Maka smiled and stood back up and strolled out of the library.

As Maka left the area, Travis gritted his teeth in anger. 'Well I underestimated how much I thought I could pester Maka until she eventually leveled the playing field. Even with the blackmail I have on her, she know has her own blackmail on me! I guess it's only a minor setback though, after all she'll eventually succumb to the effects the pill has not just on her body, but on her mind too…'

X~

Soul frowned as he walked out of another bookstore that he knew Maka liked to frequently attend.

'She could possibly be at the library. She does like to do a lot of studying and reading there and it could possibly be the place where she made the phone calls from.' Soul reasoned to himself as he walked in the direction of the library.

As Soul was crossing the street to reach the library, he noticed Maka push open the doors of the library and head down the stairs with a triumphant grin on her face.

Soul quickly moved across the street and hid behind some nearby bushes before Maka noticed him.

A few minutes after Maka walked out the doors came Travis who looked displeased and bitter.

Soul smirked a bit at Travis's frustrated expression. 'I don't know what happened back in that library, but Maka must have done something to finally get him off her back at least for a while. I guess I really didn't need to worry about her.'

Soul smiled to himself and was about to get up and go back home, when suddenly he noticed Maka was no longer standing in front of the library.

"Whoa where did Maka go? I swear she was just standing in front of the library." Soul mumbled to himself looking around.

"You should be more aware of your surroundings Soul." Maka stated standing right next to him.

Soul jumped back in surprise before settling down.

"How long have you known I've been here?" Soul asked.

Maka smirked and laughed a little. "I've known you were hiding behind these bushes since I walked out of the library."

Maka sighed and let out a yawn. "Well I'm tired it's been a long day. I'm going to head home now."

Soul glowered and grabbed Maka's hand before she could walk off again.

"Wait a minute Maka. Where have you been all day? We were all wondering where you were and I suddenly just see you come out of the library like you haven't been missing." Soul stated.

Maka frowned and broke out of Soul's grip. "I had business I had to take care of. I know it's odd of me to miss school, but I had to put some priorities in front of others."

Soul scowled at Maka's answer, but decided not to push it for now.

"Well because you decided to skip class, I had to actually force myself to stay awake and take notes for you."

Maka smiled and relaxed a bit. "Oh I'm so sorry that must have been so difficult for you! You didn't have to do that you know; I could have gotten the notes from Kid or Tsubaki."

Soul shrugged and scratched the hair behind his head. "Well it wasn't that bad just doing it for one day, but don't expect me to do it again!" Soul finished looking away with a blush.

Maka just sighed and shook her head before taking out her usual book to slam against Soul's head.

"Hey what did I do to deserve Maka-chop?! I did something nice for you and you hit me?" Soul questioned angrily as he rubbed his sore head.

Maka only chose to glare back at Soul as she put the book away.

"You deserved that chop for spying on me and going out with one of your fan-girls!" Maka snapped back just as mad as Soul.

Soul frowned and calmed down as a few minutes of silence passed between them.

Suddenly, Soul reached out and grabbed Maka's hand again and pulled her in the direction of their apartment.

"Come on let's go home now. I'll make it up to you by cooking your favorite meal!" Soul stated with toothy grin.

Maka only huffed and looked away in annoyance. "I'm still mad at you, but cooking dinner AND cleaning up the living room would be a nice start!"

Soul groaned before eventually letting out a sigh. "Don't push your luck Maka."

Author's Note: That's it for Chapter 19, let me know what you think with a review and as always thanks for reading!


	20. Foreboding Dreams

Chapter 20: Foreboding Dreams

The rest of the evening at Soul and Maka's apartment remained rather uneventful; just like Soul and Maka wanted it to be.

Maka was glad she could finally put the ordeal with Travis and Rachel behind her for now, but that didn't mean she could completely rest easy.

'I'm sure Travis will try something again in the near future if he hasn't already done something by now.' Maka mused to herself, as she snuggled into her blankets.

After reading a book and catching up on her schoolwork that she had missed, Maka finally turned in for the night.

It was about midway through the night, when Maka suddenly found herself trembling in the midst of a nightmare.

MAKA'S DREAM

Maka yawned and stretched her arms out as she turned off her alarm.

"It's morning already? Well guess I better go get Soul up before we're late." Maka mumbled sleepily to herself, as she changed out of her pajamas and into her school uniform.

Just as Maka was about to open her door up, she heard the faint sound of three voices talking just down the hall.

"That's odd. Did Blair invite a guest over for breakfast or something?" Maka whispered to herself as she walked towards the kitchen.

Maka's eyes widened in shock as she stepped into the kitchen. Soul and Blair were sitting in their normal places at the table, but there was another woman sitting in her spot that Maka didn't recognize at first.

Maka frowned and turned her attention towards Soul.

"Hey Soul, who is this woman?" Maka questioned.

Soul didn't seem to notice Maka's presence and continued to talk contently with the mysterious woman.

"So Emerald, what do you think of us performing next week at that new jazz club that opened up?" Soul asked.

Emerald smiled and nodded her head in agreement. "I think it's a great idea Soul! Blair you'll watch over the house while we're gone right?"

Blair grinned and shook her head. "Oh of course I will Emerald! You know you and Soul really make a cute couple on and off the stage!"

Maka watched all three of them laugh and continue to ignore her existence until she couldn't take it anymore.

"Okay what the hell is going on?! How can you be Emerald? Are you another imposter?" Maka yelled out as she pointed a finger at Emerald.

The laughter in the room suddenly stopped, and everyone went completely silent.

Emerald stood up and brushed a curly blond lock out of her face.

"Maka how can you not recognize me? I am you after all except better." Emerald stated with a smirk.

"No you can't be me because I'm standing right here! What did you do to Soul and Blair?" Maka snapped back.

"Hmm what do you think I brainwashed them or something to that effect? " Emerald asked curiously.

"Well you must have! I mean they aren't even acting like their normal selves!" Maka stated, turning her attention back to Soul and Blair who were watching the two argue with blank facial expressions.

"I can assure you I did no such thing to them. I just wooed them over with my saxophone playing and beauty!" Emerald said cheerfully with a flick of her hair.

'Wow do I really act like this when I'm Emerald? I know I have to act a bit different from how my personality normally is, but I sound like Rachel and her posse…' Maka thought in slight worry.

"Your services are no longer needed Maka. I can play music with Soul now and be his meister without having to worry about what other people would say!" Emerald stated, interrupting Maka's thoughts.

"Wait a minute, where would that leave me?!" Maka hissed out.

"You can be with Travis of course!" Emerald said gleefully.

Maka growled as Emerald started to laugh again and tightened her fists in preparation for punching her, until Soul got in her way.

"Soul get out of my way! I'm tired of hearing this imposter talk!" Maka stated with a scowl.

Soul just glared down at her before shaking his head.

"Really Maka isn't everything that Emerald just said true though?" Soul stated.

"What are you talking about?" Maka asked, becoming confused.

"I mean that Emerald does everything that you would do except without all the troubles. Emerald doesn't keep secrets from me and she even understands music." Soul explained.

"But Soul you don't understand! Emerald and I are the same per-"Maka suddenly cut herself off not wanting to finish the rest of her sentence.

Soul arched an eyebrow at her.

"You and Emerald are the same what?" Soul asked.

Maka shook her head, unsure what to say. 'I can't just say Emerald and I are the same person, would he even believe me? It should be obvious though, I mean even with the curly extensions in my hair and the make-up…'

Emerald looked between Soul and Maka before gaining back a cutesy smile.

"Maka isn't this what you wanted all along? I mean Soul is finally seeing how much I improved in music to the point I can even play with him!" Emerald stated thoughtfully.

Maka pouted and looked down.

"Of course I wanted to get better at music, but I want Soul to see me improve being myself, not as my alter ego." Maka mumbled.

Emerald's eyes narrowed as she looked towards Soul who just nodded in his head agreement.

"Well Maka it's too bad that you feel that way, but since you don't seem to want to take no for an answer, I guess I'll have to force you to leave." Emerald stated as Soul turned into a scythe next to her.

"Wait, what do you plan to do?" Maka asked, moving back slightly.

Emerald grinned wickedly. "Get rid of you of course! Then we won't have to deal with you bothering us anymore!" Emerald finished, as she swung the blade of the scythe towards Maka.

Maka jumped back, narrowly avoiding being cut, and was about to run out of the room until Blair grabbed her from behind.

"Oh good keep her still Blair. I want this to be quick." Emerald stated getting close to her.

Maka shut her eyes as began to shriek in terror. Just as the blade was about to come down, Maka felt something next to her start to shake her rapidly.

MAKA'S DREAM ENDS

~X~

"Maka wake up! Come on!" Soul shouted to Maka as he shook her by the shoulders.

Maka blearily opened her eyes and looked around the room in confusion. As Maka's vision adjusted, she finally noticed Soul standing next to her and tried to move away from him in fear.

Soul frowned and let go of her shoulders. "Relax Maka it's just me. You were having a bad dream."

Maka gazed at him wearily before settling down.

"Oh so it was just another nightmare then." Maka grumbled, taking in the site of her room.

"What time is it Soul?" Maka asked, glancing around trying to find her alarm clock in the darkness.

"It's 2:10 am, but the more important question is are you okay?" Soul asked in concern.

'Maka said another nightmare, which must mean this isn't the first time she's had a dream like that before.' Soul thought to himself as he rubbed Maka's back.

Maka sighed and eased herself into Soul's touch. "I'm okay. How did you know I was having a bad dream anyways?"

Soul scrunched his face. "I heard you suddenly screaming, so I ran in here and found you tossing and turning."

Maka groaned and rubbed her face in embarrassment. "I'm sorry I woke you up."

Soul shook his head and grinned toothily. "Well it isn't cool that you woke me up, but since I'm here now is there anything that you need?"

Truth be told, Maka was tempted to ask Soul to stay with her. 'No I don't need to be a baby about this. It was only a dream, there's no need to be so worried or scared.' Maka mused to herself.

Even though Maka didn't say anything, Soul seemed to pick up on what Maka wanted because he stood up and sat down in Maka's bed next to her.

Maka frowned and started to blush. "What are you doing Soul? I'm fine now; you can go back to your room!"

Soul just shushed her and pulled her in by the waist so they go could both lay down properly in the bed.

"We both know that's a lie Maka. You don't have to say it out loud if you don't want to, but I'll stay with you for the rest the night." Soul stated with a yawn.

Maka tried to move out of Soul's grip, but that made Soul only tighten his hold on her.

After a few minutes of unsuccessful attempts, Maka eventually gave up on breaking away and rested her head on the pillow close to Soul's chest.

'Well at least Soul didn't ask me what my dream was about. I wouldn't even know how to explain it to him without slipping out the truth.' Maka thought with a sigh as she drifted off back to sleep.

~X~

"Well isn't this just a cute site? I was wondering why Soul wasn't in his room, but I didn't expect him to sneak into your bed!" Blair purred out as she stood over Maka's bed.

Maka gazed drowsily at Blair, not sure what she was talking about before memories of last night hit her.

'Oh yeah I had that nightmare last night and Soul wouldn't leave my room after that!" Maka thought with a blush as she moved out of Soul's arms.

"Oh you didn't need to get up so soon! After all you two looked so comfortable in each other's arms. I figured you were going to have a round two before you left for school!" Blair stated with a grin.

"Round two? Blair we didn't do that last night!" Maka snapped, trying to keep her voice down.

Blair only smiled and gave Maka a wink. "There's no need to be shy or embarrassed about it Maka. Just let me know if you need some tips if you ever want to spice things up!" Blair stated as she walked out of the room.

Maka felt her face redden even more, before turned her attention back towards Soul who was starting to wake up.

"Hey are you feeling any better?" Soul asked, sitting up as he realized he was still in Maka's room.

"Uh yeah I'm fine. I just have a small headache, but that's probably because I'm hungry." Maka replied back, trying not to let the pain show through on her face.

"Well I'm going to change and get breakfast started then." Soul said, as he finally got up and left Maka's room.

Maka just nodded her head and closed the door behind Soul. As soon as Soul left, Maka clutched her head in aggravation. Not only was her head aching worse than usual, but she also was beginning to feel slightly dizzy.

'It could be because the nightmare interrupted my sleep last night that I have a headache now this morning, but that doesn't explain the dizziness. Well as long as it doesn't get any worse, I'll just have to endure it for now.'

By the time Soul and Maka reached school, Maka had been able to distract herself from thinking about her nightmare and her headache by focusing on her studies.

'I think as long as I keep my mind on other things, I should be able to keep my headaches and stress in check.' Maka reasoned to herself as she took her notes.

This strategy seemed to work for Maka until it was Wednesday, which meant dealing with Hiro and Travis again.

~X~

"So I know we've all been practicing on our own and a just a little bit together, but did you guys have any particular ideas of how we might want to change up our performing?" Maka asked, as she entered into Hiro's apartment.

"Well Hiro just mentioned doing something different to add to the usual performing at the Pub." Travis stated, as he looked at Hiro to give Maka the details.

"Um well it was just a thought, but I noticed that a lot of our fans really want to get to know us better. So I was thinking maybe after our small performance today, we have a quick Q&A session just to answer any questions they have for us." Hiro explained.

Maka shrugged, not sure what to make of that. "I'm pretty sure the only question they really have is just asking who we are behind our masks."

Travis looked more interested than Maka. "I don't think it's a bad idea, I'm curious to know what our fans might want to know about us."

"Well how long would the Q&A session be anyways?" Maka asked, thinking about the time restrictions she was on.

"Oh it wouldn't go over like 30 minutes. I know you like to try and get home before Soul does." Hiro stated.

Maka mulled it over a few minutes before letting out a sigh. "I guess if it's not for too long, I don't mind doing it."

Hiro grinned and stood up in excitement. "Well what are we waiting for? Let's not keep our fans waiting any longer!"

The songs Masquerade played at the Café today were simpler than most of the past songs they played. The addition of Travis's drum playing was something Maka and Hiro were still getting used to, but they managed to make it work by playing tidbits of a variety of different classical and romantic songs.

As the applause from the audience died down, Jessica took to the stage to make announcement.

"Let's give it up one more time for Masquerade's performance! Diamond informed me earlier that today Masquerade would be taking questions and signing autographs from their fans for a little bit at the table by the bar. So stop by if you have any questions you might want to ask them!" Jessica stated with a grin as the audience erupted into cheers and whispering.

~X~

"Thanks for stopping by!" Maka stated, as she handed a signed autograph back to a fan.

"Oh no, thank you! I really love listening to you guys play!" The fan-boy replied back as he happily hugged the photo of Emerald and moved out of line.

Maka was just finishing up signing another autograph, when suddenly she noticed a familiar group eyeing her.

Maka's eyes narrowed as she studied each of the girls carefully.

'I know I've seen those girls somewhere before. Wait a minute! Don't tell me that's Rachel and her posse?!' Maka thought, as realization hit her.

"Um you are Emerald right?" Ashley asked, finally being the one from the group to step up and talk to her.

"Yes I am. Did you have a question for me?" Maka asked, forcing herself to be polite and smile for the sake of her persona.

Instead of answering, Ashley just squealed a bit and turned back to the rest of her friends.

"Hey you guys, I'm actually talking to Emerald! Come on let's ask her the questions we had in mind!" Ashley stated, as all rest of the group walked up to table.

Maka internally grimaced. 'Great, now I have to deal with all of Soul's fan-girls attacking with me questions.'

"Well I want to ask my question first! How did you get so good at playing the sax?" Kate asked in excitement.

"Err well I just put in a lot of practice with Diamond and Platinum over there. I also try to get in at least an hour or two of practice each week on my own." Maka stated, thinking about her schedule.

Kate took out a notepad and wrote down what Maka had said.

"Okay it's my turn now so move over Kate!" Megan stated as she pushed Kate aside and gave Maka a good look over.

Maka frowned; feeling slightly self-conscious at how much Megan was scrutinizing her, until Megan suddenly let out a gleeful laugh.

"I knew it girls! Emerald uses the latest make-ups that you can only get from the high-end boutiques!" Megan stated, writing down her own notes.

Maka watched them take notes in confusion. 'Well this is very unexpected. They hate me as Maka, but they love me as Emerald!'

"Um I just wanted to get an autograph really, I enjoy hearing all three of you guys play!" Nancy stated, as she got a signed photo from each of them.

"Ladies, I honestly don't think any of this information will help us get closer to Soul." Rachel stated from behind them.

Maka arched an eyebrow at this. 'Oh so that's why they've been hanging out here. They want to get better at music so that they can get closer to Soul…'

"Well how else are we supposed to do it? It's not like you've been giving us any ideas lately!" Kate sneered out.

Rachel shrugged, but then let out a huff. "I told you guys that it takes me awhile to come up with new ideas besides just writing letters!"

Megan scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Yeah right Rachel. Earlier in the week you tried to brag to us that you managed to land a date with Soul, but you didn't even get a photo or a kiss from him to prove it!"

Rachel looked embarrassed at this, but still let out a haughty laugh.

"You guys are just jealous that I was able to hang out with Soul! You can ask Maka if you want my proof anyways."

"Rachel we made a pact that we weren't going to try and one up each other to get with Soul. Our main goal is supposed to be to get Maka away from him." Nancy stated in annoyance.

Rachel only shrugged and rolled her eyes. "Come on you guys; it's not like Soul could be with all of us! He would need to pick one of us."

"Oh and I bet you think he would pick you right?" Kate sneered out.

"Well duh of course he would!" Rachel stated back smugly. 'Well at least he might if I could get Travis to help me again, but lately he's been avoiding me…'

All of Rachel's friends looked like they were ready to attack her, until Maka decided to break them up.

"So just from hearing a bit of your conversation, can I assume the only reason you guys came here was to learn how to get with a guy?" Maka stated tiredly.

Everyone glanced at each other nervously, before sighing and shaking their heads.

Maka stared at them blankly. "You know I hope that there's more to this guy than just his taste in music and his interest in how girls look."

Rachel scoffed and spoke up for her friends. "Of course there is! We know plenty about Soul, right girls?"

Instead of getting an immediate response, all of Rachel's friends were quiet and looking off in other directions.

"Hmm maybe you guys don't know much about this guy besides his looks and one of his interests. Do you for example know anything about his dreams, goals, or what he wants to do for the rest of his life?" Maka asked.

When no one responded, Maka decided to continue on.

"I'll use me as an example then. I didn't know anything about music just a few months ago. My friends would constantly tease me about it, including my crush. Finally, I realized that I didn't want to be that way anymore, so I started getting help from Diamond and eventually even Platinum." Maka explained.

"At first it was very difficult for me to practice even with just Diamond alone. I had to get to know Diamond better on a personal level and on stage in order for us to improve together. In the same manner, I don't believe you girls will understand this guy better by just seeing him superficially. It takes time to get to know someone on a personal level and start a relationship." Maka finished, as she looked over each girl's facial expressions.

It was quiet for a few minutes, as every girl took in what Maka had just said.

Rachel huffed and let out a sigh. "Oh what do you know Emerald? You've never even met Soul anyways! Come on ladies; let's head back to the dorms before we get in trouble."

Maka just frowned and rolled her eyes as she watched the group walk away. 'I'm sure I know more about Soul than you do Rachel.'

Travis smirked and leaned back in his chair. "That was some good advice you gave them, but aren't you kind of acting just like them? I mean one of the reasons you wanted to get better at music was so you could impress Soul also right?"

Maka blushed slightly and turned away from Travis. "It's true that understanding and playing music to impress Soul was part of the reason I became Emerald, but now that's not my only reason."

Hiro looked curious at this. "Oh really? Why else would you play music?"

Maka only smiled and put a finger to her lips, indicating that she intended to keep it a secret.

"Well since it seems like there's nobody else here who has any questions, I'm going to head home now." Maka stated, as she stood up and walked back stage to take off her disguise.

As Maka strolled back to the apartment, her mind reeled back to the nightmare she had had just the other night.

'It's creepy how much in that dream I acted just like Rachel and her friends, only caring about looking pretty and understanding music so I could get closer to Soul. This really puts things in perspective…' Maka mused to herself, before pushing the thoughts back as she felt her head start to pound again.

Author's Note: That's it for Chapter 20! Let me know what you think with a review and as always thanks for reading!


	21. Emotionally Exhausted

Chapter 21: Emotionally Exhausted

'I should just stop this charade and tell Soul the truth!' Maka thought to herself, as she finished up making breakfast.

Ever since her encounter with Rachel and her friends, Maka had begun to seriously consider telling Soul the truth about her double life as Emerald.

"But then again, how would I even tell him? It would be awkward just to blurt it out and then there's the fact that he might think I'm lying…" Maka mumbled to herself with a sigh.

Maka was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't even notice she was starting to burn the eggs until Soul spoke up.

"Hey Maka, I think the eggs are ready now." Soul stated, as the faint smell of burnt eggs began to fill the air.

Maka immediately broke out her thoughts and quickly took the burnt eggs off the pan.

"Oh sorry about that Soul. Guess I got a little distracted for a minute." Maka said, once she had cleaned off the pan.

Soul only continued to stare at Maka carefully before letting out a sigh.

"Are you okay? It seems like you've been zoning out a lot lately…" Soul stated.

"Huh? Oh yeah I'm fine Soul I just have a lot on my mind that's all." Maka replied back.

Soul was about to ask her what was on her mind, but Maka suddenly spoke up again.

"We should hurry and eat breakfast Soul. I don't want to be late for school." Maka stated, taking the plate of eggs and some bacon to the table.

Soul frowned and just shrugged his shoulders as he followed Maka to the table to get started on breakfast.

On the way to school, Soul continued to remain concerned by Maka's unusual behavior. It seemed like Maka was still having problems dealing with her headaches and nightmares that she was trying to either ignore or play off as not a big deal.

About midway in their walk to the DWMA, Soul and Maka ran into Black Star and Tsubaki.

"Hey you guys! It's not often that we see you on the way to school!" Black Star yelled out to them as he approached them cheerfully.

While Soul and Black Star high-fived and greeted each other, Maka and Tsubaki discussed the assignments that Professor Stein had recently assigned them.

"So did you finish that report that Professor Stein gave us last week?" Tsubaki asked.

"Yup! I actually had a little bit of trouble doing it, but I was able to finish up the last bits of it yesterday night." Maka replied back.

"Ha! You had actual trouble with an assignment Maka? Maybe you should have come to me for help!" Black Star stated, cutting into their conversation.

Maka only huffed and rolled her eyes. "You barely do any of our homework assignments Black Star! And even when you do them, most of the time you make an F on them!"

Black Star scoffed and started to march ahead of all them, but not before passing a brief knowing look to Maka on how he knew the real reason why it was so difficult for her to finish her assignments lately.

"Really Tsubaki, I don't know how you put up with sometimes." Maka stated, as she watched Black Star walk away.

'I'm surprised neither Soul nor Tsubaki noticed that look Black Star just gave me. I'm pretty sure he can see how tiring it's getting for me to keep up with being both Emerald and Maka. I want to tell the truth, but I just don't know how to…' Maka thought to herself with a sigh.

~X~

In class, it became more difficult for Maka to focus on Stein's lesson with each passing minute.

It's not like what Stein was talking about was particularly difficult to understand (he was just doing his usual dissection lesson), it was just that her head was starting to pound so much that it was beginning to make her feel woozy.

'Maybe if I just lay my head down for a minute, I'll feel better.' Maka assumed to herself, before quietly resting her head against her book and closing her eyes.

When about an hour had passed in class, Soul finally noticed that Maka had apparently fallen asleep right by his elbow.

'Okay something must really be wrong with Maka. She always hits me over the head if I even so much as doze off for a little bit, and yet here she is resting.' Soul mused to himself, as he gazed over Maka's sleeping form.

'Well I guess I should wake her up before Stein notices she fell asleep. Not only would it be embarrassing for her if he woke her up, but he would probably think it would be okay to awaken her by throwing a scalpel.' Soul thought, before trying to wake Maka up by poking her shoulder.

Soul frowned as he noticed poking Maka didn't seem to make her stir.

"Okay then. Maybe I should try with something a little sharper, like my pencil?" Soul grumbled quietly under his breath, as he started to poke Maka's cheek slightly with the tip of his pencil.

Even poking Maka's cheek didn't seem to faze her any.

Soul glared at Maka now, starting to become a bit frustrated. He didn't feel like Maka would pretend to sleep in class just to mess with him; so what was wrong with her?

Just as Soul was about to try pinching Maka, he realized Maka looked slightly pale and feverish.

Soul's eyes widened a bit in worry. "Maka are you okay? Say something." Soul whispered in alarm, starting to shake her arm.

Maka finally wearily opened her eyes and gave Soul a dazed look before closing her eyes again.

"Maka wake up! What's wrong with you?!" Soul snapped, his voice echoing in the silence of the classroom.

"Soul might I ask why you are interrupting my lesson?" Stein stated, turning his attention away from the board towards him.

"It's Maka! I don't know what's wrong with her, but she won't wake up!" Soul replied back, still trying to shake Maka awake to no avail.

At Soul's announcement, the whole classroom erupted into whispers as everyone looked over in Maka and Soul's direction.

Stein sighed and set his chalk down. "Everyone take a 5 minute break while I get this situation settled."

Stein walked over to Soul and Maka's desk and felt Maka's forehead.

Stein frowned and retracted his hand back. "Well she does feel warm; take her to Nygus to get checked out."

~X~

'I don't get why I have to stay outside the clinic. What difference does it make if I'm in the room with Maka?' Soul thought to himself, as he waited outside the clinic's door.

As soon as he had brought Maka into the clinic and set her down on a bed, Nygus had taken one good look at Maka before pushing him out.

"Whatever Maka has could be contagious, I don't want it to go spreading to other students." Nygus stated as he shoved Soul out the doors.

'I already spend a lot of time around Maka, so it's possible that I could already be infected by what she has if it really is a virus or something.' Soul thought grouchily as he slouched against the wall.

"I just hope Maka feels better soon, even when she does get sick it's usually not this bad." Soul mumbled to himself.

Back inside the office, Nygus began to take Maka's vital signs and perform a basic assessment.

"Hmm she has an elevated blood pressure and temperature. Her pulse is normal though and her pupils are reactive to light." Nygus said aloud, as she wrote down her findings.

Maka suddenly started to scrunch up her face and open her eyes slightly.

"Oh where am I?" Maka asked quietly, clutching her head in pain.

"Good to see that you're starting to wake up Maka. You're in the clinic now, Soul brought you here." Nygus stated.

"Soul brought me here? Well where is he now?" Maka questioned, looking around.

Nygus only shrugged. "I assume he went back to class. I made him leave after he dropped you off because it was possible I would need to conduct a physical assessment on you."

Maka let out a sigh and stretched her arms out. 'I don't even remember falling asleep. I know I put my head down to try to stop my headache, but everything after that is a blur.'

"So Maka, let me ask you a few questions just to get an idea on what might have caused your fainting spell in class today." Nygus stated, taking a seat in a chair close by the bed.

"Um okay then. Ask away." Maka replied back, turning her attention towards her.

"Well I noticed just a few minutes ago you were rubbing your head. Have you been having any headaches recently?" Nygus asked kindly.

"Actually I have been, but they usually don't hurt as bad as they did today. I maybe was only getting them once or twice a day at first, but now they seem to be happening more frequently." Maka stated, thinking over the past few days.

"Do you get any other symptoms when the headaches occur?" Nygus asked, writing the information Maka had just said down.

"No not really. Usually they only happen when I feel stressed about something, but today I did start feeling a bit dizzy as the headache started to get worse." Maka recalled.

"Hmm okay then. How would you rate the pain of your headache right now on a scale of 1 to 10?" Nygus asked, sitting up in the chair.

"I would say maybe a 7 or an 8 but I really don't think it's a big deal. I think if I just don't worry about it the pain will go away." Maka stated as she tried to get off the bed, but immediately felt a wave of dizziness hit her.

"Whoa now take it easy Maka! There's no need to rush back to class. I can't let you leave anyways without running a few tests. You have a fever right now and I don't want you to spread your illness to the other students." Nygus stated, as she eased Maka back into the bed.

"I'm fine though! I don't want to get behind in my lessons!" Maka huffed out.

"I'm sure Soul will take the notes for you or one of your other friends will; for right now I need you to rest and stop trying to run away!" Nygus said with a stern expression when she noticed Maka was trying to get out of bed again.

Maka sighed and buried her head back into the white pillows and bedspread.

'This is definitely not how I planned my day to go at all…'

~X~

"Hey girls, I just heard in the hallways some interesting information." Kate stated, as she met up with the rest of her friends in the NOT class.

"Oh? Well tell us already!" Megan stated, looking up from a magazine she had been reading.

"It's about Maka. Apparently she fainted in class today!" Kate stated with a chuckle.

Ashley snickered. "That is interesting! I wonder what caused that to happen."

Kate shrugged, but continued to smile. "Who cares? At least it means she isn't hanging around Soul. This is a good opportunity for me to try and get Soul to finally notice me!"

Nancy let out a snort next to her. "Don't you mean me Kate? After all we all know that I'm probably the most compatible one for Soul!"

Rachel sighed and rolled her eyes as her friends began to all start fighting again over Soul. Instead of joining in though, Rachel looked around the classroom for Travis.

Rachel smirked to herself when she finally saw him sitting on the first row and took a quick glance back at her friends. 'They are all too busy fighting, I'm sure they won't notice if I walk off for a bit.'

Rachel sat down in the empty seat next to Travis and cleared her throat to get his attention.

Travis looked up from his notes and gave her a blank stare.

"Can I help you?" He asked in an annoyed manner.

"Hey what's with the attitude? Why have you been ignoring my calls and texts? I thought you wanted to get closer to Maka." Rachel asked with a hiss.

'I do, but that all changed when she got blackmail on me.' Travis thought in frustration.

"I still want to get with her, but that's not what you care about right?" Travis stated, finally giving Rachel a side glance.

"Well of course! I don't give a damn what you do to get to Maka, but you promised me I would be able to get with Soul!" Rachel stated with a huff.

Travis scoffed and gave Rachel a cold glare. "Who said I promised you that? I never said any of the time you would be able to spend with Soul would be permanent."

Rachel shivered slightly under Travis's glare, but still didn't back down.

"You don't think you could maybe give me another potion again or a love potion I could give to Soul?" Rachel asked.

Travis growled and rubbed his head. 'This girl is really trying my patience, if she doesn't stop bugging me than I'll get rid of her permanently.'

"Listen I'll let you know if I come up with any more elixirs or stuff like that, but for now you really need to leave me alone." Travis stated quietly.

Rachel pouted and stood back up. "Fine, I hope you're precious Maka stays sick!"

Travis sent her a baffled look. "What are you talking about?"

Rachel still looked angry, but gained a smug smile. "Oh I guess you didn't hear the news yet. Apparently Maka collapsed earlier in class and is currently in the nurse's office."

Travis resisted the urge to grin wickedly at the news Rachel had just gave him as he watched her walk away.

'It looks like the poison I gave Maka is finally beginning to really flow through her system now. That's the best information I've gotten out of Rachel yet. Even though it's risky since Soul and her friends will be close by, I think I should still pay her a visit just to see how she looks.'

~X~

"Alright Maka, I'm going to start things off by drawing some of your blood to collect for lab testing." Nygus stated, as she wrapped a tourniquet around her arm.

Maka sighed and nodded her head as she let Nygus puncture a vein in arm and collect the blood into a tube.

After applying a bandage to the site, Nygus got up and went to the back area to store the blood samples.

"Okay Maka, I need you to take two of these Tylenols to help reduce your fever and just take it easy for the next hour or two." Nygus stated, once she came back in.

"The next hour or two?!" Maka cried out, as she glanced back at the clock. It was already getting close to noon now.

"I've already missed my morning class though, now I'm going to possibly miss my afternoon class?!" Maka stated, as she turned back towards Nygus.

Nygus only nodded her head. "You might get better faster if you just rest like I told you to earlier. Not only will it help you get your energy back, but it will make you feel better also."

Maka sighed and just shook her head in agreement. "Okay I'll try to get in one nap."

Nygus watched as Maka tossed and turned, trying to make herself comfortable in the small bed. After a few minutes passed, Maka finally seemed to settle down and Nygus smiled.

'It seems like the only reason she got sick could be because she was overworking herself.' Nygus mused to herself as she went back towards Maka's blood samples and ran them through the machine.

The results of Maka's blood test eventually came out a few minutes later, and Nygus looked them over to search for any abnormalities.

'Okay there doesn't seem to be anything too out of the ordinary in her system. She has an elevated white blood cell count, which could indicate infection.' Nygus mused to herself, as she studied the paper.

As Nygus read down the list though, a component she didn't recognize suddenly caught her eye.

"What is this? It's not a part of the red blood cells group or the chemistry panel." Nygus whispered under her breathe.

"I need to take a closer look at this; this could possibly be what caused Maka to get sick." Nygus reasoned aloud, as she took a small sample of Maka's blood to place under a microscope.

Even looking at Maka's blood under the microscope, Nygus still had no idea what the foreign organism was.

'I need to consult with Dr. Stein about this, it could be something serious.'

~X~

Maka had been sleeping for about half an hour, when suddenly she heard a familiar voice outside the door.

"Let me in! I ran all the way here as soon as I heard the news! Where is my precious baby Maka!" Spirit yelled out.

Maka frowned and buried her head back into the pillows in an attempt to tune out his voice.

"Spirit I must ask you to please calm down. Maka is trying to rest inside." Nygus replied back calmly.

"I can't rest easy! When I heard from Stein that my daughter collapsed in class, I dropped everything I was doing to come here!" Spirit stated in frustration.

'I bet you weren't even doing anything important papa! I'm sure you just came back from your daily afternoon visit to ChupaCabras.' Maka thought in agitation.

As Nygus and Spirit continued to bicker a bit, Soul walked back up to two of them and leaned back against the wall.

Nygus was the first to notice Soul's presence. "What are you doing here again Soul? I thought I told you to go back to class."

Soul shrugged and lifted up a candy bar. "I don't want to leave my meister alone. I only left to go get a candy bar from the snack machine because I was getting hungry."

Spirit only glowered at Soul before pointing a finger at him. "Hey you brat! What happened to my Maka?! What's this I heard about her fainting in class?"

Soul scoffed and shoved Spirit's finger out of his face. "I don't know what's wrong with her. She was fine this morning."

Spirit was not amused by Soul's answer and continued to glare at him.

Nygus sighed as she looked at both Spirit and Soul in annoyance.

"Well I can see that the both of you don't want to leave anytime soon, so I'll just let you in to see her. Once you come inside though, I need you to at least keep your voices down." Nygus stated, moving aside to let them in.

Spirit immediately rushed to Maka's side and looked her over.

"Oh my sweet baby Maka! I'm sorry I didn't come sooner to your aid!" Spirit stated, as he started to cry.

Soul rolled his eyes at Spirit's behavior and took a seat on the opposite side of the bed.

Soul sighed and decided to take a small peek Maka's face. He smiled a bit when he saw it didn't look as pale as it did earlier.

Spirit noticed the look Soul was giving Maka and frowned.

"You know I didn't forget what you told me back on the night of the gala." Spirit stated quietly.

Soul blushed slightly, but shrugged it off. "I meant what I said that night."

Spirit nodded his head and gazed back over at Maka.

"I know that when Maka wakes up, she's not going to want to see me here. Can I assume you'll still be here when she finally starts to get up?" Spirit asked in a serious manner.

Soul grinned toothily. "Do you really have to ask?"

Spirit huffed, but still stood up. "Hey I didn't ask for your sarcastic response! I'm only trusting you in Maka's care because I know she would prefer you over me."

Soul only smirked and shook his head. "I won't leave her alone, I promise."

Spirit sighed and smiled slightly. "Thanks for watching over her. I'm going to try and find Stein to see if he can take a look at her again."

As Spirit walked out and shut the door behind him, Soul turned his attention back to Maka.

"Okay you can stop pretending to sleep now. He's gone." Soul said with a laugh.

Maka opened her eyes slightly. "How did you know?" Maka asked.

Soul chuckled. "I've spent enough time around you to know when you're actually asleep or just faking it."

Maka huffed, but relaxed when Soul reached out and gripped her hand.

"Why didn't you say something earlier if you weren't feeling well?" Soul asked, slightly annoyed.

Maka blushed and looked down. "I didn't want to worry you or anyone else."

Soul groaned. "So you figured waiting until the pain made you pass out would be better?"

Maka shook her head. "No I didn't say that. Geez it's not like I wanted to pass out, I just wanted to rest my eyes for a few minutes."

Soul just sighed and leaned back in the chair.

Maka watched him gaze at the ceiling as she tried to gather her thoughts together.

'Alright Nygus is in the other room. It's just the two of us alone in here. It's time I come clean to Soul about everything.' Maka thought to herself, becoming nervous.

Maka squeezed Soul's hand to get his attention, causing Soul to turn his attention back towards her.

"What's wrong Maka? Do you feel sick again?" Soul asked.

Maka shook her head. "Um well there's something I need to tell you."

Soul frowned and focused his ruby eyes on Maka's emerald ones. "Okay I'm listening."

Maka sighed and took a deep breath in an attempt to calm her anxiety.

"I know you've been wondering why I've been kind of distant over the past few weeks. I don't want you to worry about me anymore or distract you from your death scythe duties so I'll be honest with you now and tell you that I'm-"Maka was suddenly cut off by a knock at the door.

Soul sighed and turned away from Maka. "That could be your dad again. I guess he found Professor Stein."

Maka frowned and looked down. "Yeah I suppose so. I guess you should go get it then."

Soul got up and opened the door as Maka pushed back the covers of the bed.

'And to think I was just about to tell him!' Maka thought, feeling a mix of sadness and anger.

"What are you doing here?" Soul snapped out coldly, causing Maka to look up in alarm.

"Oh Soul you're here also. Good, I guess I finally get to deal with the both of you at the same time then." Travis replied back with a grin as he peered inside and made eye contact with Maka.

Author's Note: That's it for Chapter 21, let me know what you think with a review and as always thanks for reading!


	22. Missing By Sunset

Chapter 22: Missing by Sunset

Maka's eyes widened as she saw Travis at the door. 'Why is he here? Does he want me to spread what I know about him to the school?'

Travis only grinned and was about to walk in, when Soul suddenly blocked his entrance.

"I'm not letting you get anywhere near Maka again." Soul stated coldly.

Travis arched an eyebrow, but continued to smile. "What's wrong with me checking up on Maka?"

Soul scoffed. "Don't act innocent. For all I know, you could be the reason she's sick in the first place!"

Travis frowned and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. 'He actually isn't too far off from the truth.'

"Well I actually just wanted to tell both you and Maka something, but if you're just going to start accusing me of crimes I didn't commit…" Travis stated with a sigh as he turned around to walk away.

"What's so important that you have to say to us anyways?" Maka snapped, finally speaking up as she got out of bed.

Travis smirked and turned back around. "Is your boyfriend here going to step aside?" Travis asked, pointing to Soul who was still restricting his access to the room.

Maka just sighed and rubbed her head in irration. "Soul let him in, I'm sure he's not going to leave until we hear what he has to say anyways."

Soul grumbled under his breath and stepped aside. "You have 5 minutes to talk."

Travis nodded his head in agreement and sat down in the bed opposite of Maka's.

"I know why Maka's sick. Have you been getting headaches or feeling dizzy lately?" Travis asked calmly.

Maka's eyes widened as she looked towards Soul; he appeared to be just as surprised as she was.

"I'm guessing by the expressions on your faces I'm right huh?" Travis stated with a laugh.

"How did you know all that?" Soul questioned, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"I overheard some girls in the NOT class talking about it. They are actually pretty big fangirls of yours. I believe they might have poisoned Maka out of jealously in order to try and get with you." Travis stated.

Maka frowned, still wary of anything Travis had to say. "And you're telling us this why?"

Travis smirked and hopped off the bed. "Well it gets tiring having to hear them constantly whine and fight over Soul every day. I already know they have hurt Maka emotionally in the past, so them hurting her physically isn't too farfetched."

Soul frowned and turned his attention back to Maka. "What is he talking about?"

"Um I'll explain that later. The main question I have to ask is how did they even poison me?" Maka asked.

Travis shrugged. "I'm not too sure. It's possible they could have slipped something into a drink or something you ate when you weren't looking."

Travis cracked his knuckles and walked back out the door again. "Well I just wanted to warn you about them; I know Soul has a lot of fans, but these girls are not your normal type of fangirls." He finished with a chuckle as he finally walked away. 'Telling them a few lies and the truth will at least hopefully throw them off tracking me for a bit.'

Soul sighed and turned back around to face Maka. "Which girls is he talking about?"

Maka pouted and avoided Soul's glaring, until he forced her to look at him.

"Maka stop trying to not look at me! Tell me which girls he was talking about!" Soul snapped, as he pinched Maka's cheeks.

Maka huffed and slapped Soul's hands away. "I don't even know all of their names!"

Soul growled and rolled his eyes. "Well then just tell me the names of the ones that have been bothering you then!"

Maka frowned and leaned back against the bed. "What will you do to them if I tell you?"

"Make sure they never mess with you again of course." Soul replied back, as if it was the most obvious answer in the world.

Maka sighed and crossed her arms. "I can handle them on my own without your help."

Soul groaned and resisted the urge to curse. "There you go again Maka. I don't understand why you won't just let me help you. Did I say something to you that caused you to start blocking me out all of a sudden?"

Maka shook her head. "No Soul, you haven't done anything wrong. I already told you, I just want to handle some things on my own." 'I can't let Soul get involved in Travis's plans or let him know how much Rachel and her friends truly bother me.'

Soul grumbled something under his breath, before pulling Maka into a hug.

"Maka I know you are a strong and independent person, but you don't have to handle all of your issues alone. You helped me get through my own personal issues, so why won't you let me help you get through yours?"

Maka opened her mouth to respond, but couldn't find the words to say anything back.

'I'm afraid of what you're going to say if I tell you Soul. After keeping so many secrets from you, I'm not sure how you will react to the truth…'

Maka sighed and embraced him back.

"Hey Soul?" Maka mumbled against his shoulder.

"Yeah, what is it?" Soul asked.

Maka moved back so she could properly look at Soul's face. "I still needed to tell you that I'm-"Maka was suddenly interrupted once again. This time it was by a loud coughing coming from the door.

Maka frowned and almost slammed her fist against Soul's chest. 'Damn it now whose interrupting me?!' Maka thought in frustration, as she turned towards the owner of the voice.

Both Soul and Maka looked over towards the door and broke apart when they saw it was Stein and Spirit.

~X~

"Hey I said watch over Maka, not try to rape her you brat!" Spirit yelled out, as he tried to attack Soul only to get a Maka-chop in the process.

"He was just giving me a hug Papa! Stop jumping to conclusions!" Maka snapped, feeling her cheeks redden at his accusation.

"Well you seem to be a lot livelier than how you were earlier." Stein mentioned.

"That's because I feel better now. In fact I feel well enough to leave now." Maka replied back.

Stein just shook his head. "Nygus informed me that you were running a fever and that she wanted me to look over and discuss your lab results with you."

Maka huffed and laid back into the bed. "And how long do you think all that will take?"

Stein glanced over at the clock; it was currently half past 1 now. "Well I do have a quick meeting I have to go to at 2, but I should be back by 2:15."

Maka sighed and looked away. "What am I going to do to past the time?"

Spirit suddenly spoke up again. "Don't worry Maka! Papa will stay here with you to keep you company!"

Maka chose to ignore her dad and focused back on Soul. "How much longer can you stay here?"

Soul sighed and shook his head. "I can't really stay much longer now that I think about it; I was supposed to meet with Kid for afternoon training an hour ago."

"What? Why are you just now telling me this?!" Maka snapped.

Soul shrugged. "I wanted to make sure you were okay first."

Soul got up and moved the chair he was sitting in back to its original place. "I'll see you when you I get home Maka." Soul stated with a smirk as gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

Maka blushed and pushed him back slightly. "Stop it! What are you trying to do, piss off my papa even more?!"

Soul smirked and nodded his head before finally leaving the room.

"Who the hell does he think he is just touching my precious daughter like that?! I need to discuss his behavior with Kid!" Spirit yelled out, as he gave chase after Soul.

Stein watched them leave before standing up and closing the door behind them.

"You certainly have some odd friends and family." Stein mused aloud.

Maka only snorted. "Like your one to talk."

Stein laughed at that and walked to the back room to retrieve Maka's lab results.

"Well at least Soul is gone now. I wasn't sure you were going to be honest with any questions I had for you if he was still in the room." Stein stated, once he returned to the room.

Maka sighed and sunk slowly into the bed. "I'm trying not to lie to Soul anymore; in fact I was going to tell him the truth just now if people would have stopped interrupting me.

Stein looked confused at this. "Who else came to the room besides Spirit and me?"

"Travis. He came here warning Soul and I about how Soul's fangirls might have poisoned me." Maka stated.

"Hmm well that sounds a bit weird to me. Do you think he might be trying to frame them?" Stein asked.

Maka shrugged, not too sure herself. "I mean he could be, but honestly he did have a point. Soul's fangirls don't like me, though I don't think they are smart or crazy enough to try to take me out with poison."

Stein twiddled his thumbs and continued to think of other options. "So what do they do to you then?"

Maka frowned, she really didn't want to talk about it with Professor Stein of all people, but it didn't seem like she really had a choice.

"Well in the past they liked to put hateful messages in my locker. At first I really didn't know who was doing it, so I mainly just threw away the letters. Eventually though, their leader Rachel I guess confronted me and revealed her and her friends were the ones who made the letters." Maka explained.

"What exactly were those letters about?" Stein asked.

Maka sighed and looked down. "Mostly just saying things like how I was a terrible meister and that I should stop hanging around Soul so much because he was a death scythe now. Those letters hurt, but the most painful ones were when they would bring up and make fun of my friends or family." Maka finished with a huff.

"By the way, don't you have to go to that meeting?" Maka stated, as she looked back at the clock. It was already 1:50 pm now.

Stein stared at her blankly before remembering what she was talking about.

"Oh that? I didn't really have a meeting to go to. I was just hoping that by mentioning the time, Soul would remember that he himself needed to be somewhere and would leave the room."

Maka frowned. "And what if that plan didn't work?"

Stein shrugged. "Then I guess Soul would know the truth about everything right now."

Maka nodded her head wistfully. "I really screwed myself over by doing this. All of my problems came out of me wanting to keep Emerald a secret because I was too embarrassed to admit the truth to my friends and family. Now it's possible this toxin I have in me could spread to other people if I'm not careful enough."

"Well let's not think on the worst case scenario just yet. It's possible that what you have isn't contagious and that I could develop an antidote to rectify it." Stein stated, as he gazed back over Maka's labs.

"What do my test results say anyways?" Maka asked, trying to take a glimpse at the papers.

"Well you have an elevated white blood cell count, all your other labs are within normal limits, but I don't know what this one organism is that comes up in your blood when I looked at it under the microscope.

"It must be the toxin that was slipped to me." Maka assumed.

Stein nodded his head in agreement. "It probably is, since we don't want your symptoms to get any worse, I'm going to prescribe you a low dose mix of antibiotics and antivenin which will hopefully counteract the problems."

Stein wrote down the prescription and handed it to her.

"What if this doesn't help? I mean you said that even you didn't know what type of organism this was flowing through my blood." Maka asked, as she read over the prescription.

"Well in the meantime, I'll study it under the microscope and try to develop an antidote. I'm pretty sure those medicines at the least will help to stop the organism from spreading to other parts of your body and relieve some of the pain you've been having." Stein replied back.

Maka sighed and nodded her head in understanding. "Okay then. I guess I can bear the headaches for just a little bit longer."

Stein nodded and smiled a bit. "It would also be helpful if you stopped putting yourself into stressful situations, but I'm sure you already knew that."

Maka huffed and rolled her eyes. "Yeah I know; I put myself in this mess and I'll get myself out of it."

~X~

Rachel frowned as she scouted the classroom for Travis.

'Damn it! Don't tell me he's skipping class again? Where the hell is he?' Rachel thought in annoyance, as she stared over at the usual area of where Travis liked to sit at.

'That's it; I'm tired of him avoiding me. With every passing day, Soul and Maka are getting closer to each other. He might have told me to leave him alone, but I won't take no for an answer this time!' Rachel thought with pout, as she tried to focus back on Sid's lesson again.

Once class was over, Rachel met up with her friends outside the classroom door.

"So where do you guys want to hang out after school today?" Ashley asked.

"I want to go to Deathbucks; I heard they added this new smoothie to the menu!" Kate stated.

"Ooh that sounds good. We haven't been there in a while anyways." Megan stated in agreement.

"You guys go on ahead. I need to pick up a book from the library before I leave." Rachel lied.

Ashley arched an eyebrow at her. "We can just wait for you outside. It's not like getting a book will take that long."

Rachel internally cursed, but continued to keep up with her lie. "Well I don't exactly know where the book is at. It might take me longer than I think."

Ashley sighed and let out a scoff. "Whatever, I don't want to be at the school any longer than I have to be. Just meet us at Deathbucks; we'll be sitting at our usual spot if it isn't taken."

Rachel nodded her head and watched as her friends left down the hallway.

'Thank goodness they didn't ask me anymore questions. It's hard coming up with lies right on the spot!' Rachel thought with a sigh of relief.

Rachel walked inside the library and checked all around the tables and sitting areas for any sign of Travis to no avail.

"Okay so you weren't in the library and you weren't in class either. Guess I should try and see if he's at the boy's dorms then." Rachel muttered under her breath.

The walk to the boy's dorms in the midst of the afternoon heat left Rachel even more aggravated and pissed.

'Great, now I'm all sweaty and gross. Ugh he better be somewhere inside this building.' Rachel thought with a growl, as she stepped inside the main foyer of the boy's apartments.

"Hello miss, how can I help you?" A man asked from behind the desk.

"Yeah I'm looking for a guy named Travis Hutchinson. Do you know if he stays here?" Rachel asked tiredly.

"Hmm well if he attends the DWMA he could possibly be here. Let me just check the system to see if he lives in this building or any of the neighboring ones." The man stated nicely, as he typed a few things into the computer nearby.

After typing for a few minutes, the man spoke up again.

"I'm sorry; nobody by the name lives in any of DWMA's boy's dorms. It's possible I suppose he lives on his own."

"Great, are you trying to tell me I wasted my time coming here?!" Rachel snapped out with a hiss.

The man shrugged. "Well you can't say I didn't at least try to look him up."

"Travis lives on the other side of town; he never lived in the boy's dorms." Another guy stated, walking up to the two of them.

'You have got to be kidding me; I have to walk to the other end of the city now!' Rachel thought, nearly screaming out a cuss.

"How do you even know that?" Rachel asked the other guy, since apparently the guy behind the desk was going to be no help to her.

"I've seen him head into to this old looking apartment building when I was doing some grocery shopping in the past. I think this was the address of the place, but I'm not sure. I know at least it was close by the Death City Mall." The guy stated, as he wrote the address down on a slip of paper and handed it to Rachel.

"Finally I get some good help around here! Unlike that guy over there who can't even do his job right!" Rachel stated snottily, before exiting out of the dorms.

The guy behind the desk scoffed at Rachel's statement. "It's not my damn fault that I didn't know who she was talking about!"

The other guy just shook his head. "Don't mind her, she acts like a bitch to basically everyone except her friends and when she's talking about Soul Eater. She must be crazy though to want to find where Travis lives though. We both have him in Sid's class and I think he is a bit on the creepy side."

~X~

By the time Rachel reached the address the guy was talking about, it was starting to get late.

"Damn, it must be at least 4 or 5 pm by now, the sun is starting to even set!" Rachel hissed to herself as she walked inside the building.

Once inside, Rachel took a sweeping glance around. The building itself from the outside looked old and worn down with broken structures, but inside was even worse. The paint along the walls was a faded shade of blue that was peeling in certain edges. Across the ceiling and ground were cobwebs and dust. To top things off, Rachel even noted what smelt like the odor of burnt trash permeating the air.

'What the hell type of dump does Travis live at? He could at least find better living conditions than this if he wasn't going to choose to live in the boy's dorms.' Rachel thought in disgust, as she walked up to the front desk.

"Excuse me, but does someone by the name of Travis Hutchinson live here?" Rachel asked the attendant.

The lady looked Rachel up and down before letting out a sigh.

"Yeah he just came in. He lives on the 3rd floor, 1st door on your left." She stated with a scowl.

"Okay thank you." Rachel replied back and hurriedly went up the stairs.

Rachel cautiously knocked on Travis's door and let out a huff. 'This place is giving me the creeps. The sooner I get what I want from Travis, the sooner I can get the hell out of here.'

Travis opened the door and gave Rachel a confused look. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Never mind that, you know why I came here! I want you to work on making me another potion that can help me get closer to Soul again!" Rachel snapped out, as she pushed her way inside Travis's room.

Travis's eyes narrowed as he slammed the door closed behind him and clicked it into place.

"Rachel didn't I warn you already not to bother me about that topic again? The fact that you even went to all this trouble to find me makes it even worse." Travis stated with a sigh.

"Look, it can't be that hard to make another potion. It didn't take you that long to give it to me the first time." Rachel stated as he took a seat on the sofa.

Travis just gave her a cold smile. "Oh Rachel, what makes you think I give a damn if you end up with Soul or not? I don't need your help with that situation anymore and I don't take orders from you."

Rachel frowned under Travis's glare. "Didn't we originally agree though that you would help me get with Soul and that would help you get with Maka?"

Travis shrugged. "Plans can change and you know what? I'm tired of you bugging me about it so I'll just make things easier on the both of us by getting rid of you."

Rachel started to get a bit nervous now and scooted further away from Travis.

"What are you talking about?" Rachel managed to stutter out.

Travis only let out a snicker. "Oh what's the matter Rachel? Don't feel so high and mighty now when the tables turn on you huh?"

Travis turned his arm into a sickle and stepped closer towards Rachel. "Your soul may not be the one that I want, but it has been too long since I added another soul to my collection."

As Travis finished his statement, he immediately rushed towards Rachel and nearly slashed her, but she leapt out of the way.

"What the hell is wrong with you Travis? Have you gone crazy?!" Rachel cried out, running to try to open back up the door, only to find it jammed.

Travis watched her fiddle with the door handle for a minute, before letting out a bitter laugh. "Silly Rachel, didn't you know I never let any of my prey escape? You really shouldn't have come here making such demands, but it's too late now."

Travis came up behind her and promptly slammed her hard enough in the back to knock her out.

Travis grinned as he gazed over Rachel's unconscious body. "Don't worry Rachel I won't kill you yet. I usually like to mess around with my victims until I get bored and finally collect their soul."

~X~

"Let's see, so the instructions say to take 2 in the evening and 2 in the morning." Maka stated, as she finally left the Pharmacy.

"I hate having to take medicine for such an extended period of time, but nothing can be done about it." Maka grumbled under her breathe, as she walked home.

On the way home, Maka noticed Rachel's friends off in the distance looking anxious and scared.

"Try calling her number again Kate!" Ashley snapped out, as shook her shoulders.

"Damn it Ashley, I tried calling her number 5 times already and texting her!" Kate snapped back, pushing Ashley away.

"Where could she be? It's not like her to ignore our calls." Megan stated, concerned.

"Well she was acting kind of odd earlier, but that doesn't explain why she won't answer any of our messages now." Nancy said.

Maka sighed and tried to quickly walk past them without being noticed, but unfortunately Kate saw her.

"Hey wait a minute isn't that Maka? Hey hold up we need to talk to you; what did you do to Rachel?!" Kate yelled out in a rush.

Maka groaned under her breath and turned around. "I don't know what you're talking about. I haven't seen Rachel all day."

"Don't play dumb with us! I know we've all been kind of jerks to you in the past, but that doesn't mean you had to kidnap Rachel!" Ashley sneered out.

Maka rolled her eyes. "I'm pretty sure you guys heard that I was basically in the clinic all day sick right? So how could I have gotten to Rachel when I just got out of there like 30 minutes ago?"

Ashley and the others paused in their accusations and frowned. Kate sighed and was the first to speak up.

"Okay I guess you have a point there. I'm sorry we accused you so fast, but please help us. We haven't seen Rachel or been able to contact her since we left from school. All of us are worried that something bad has happened to her."

Author's Note: That's it for Chapter 22! Let me know what you think with a review, and as always thanks for reading!


	23. Infiltration Part 1

Chapter 23: Infiltration Part 1

Maka sighed and thought over what Kate had said.

"Did you at least try calling her or sending her a text? I mean it's possible that she just went back to the dorms and fell asleep." Maka asked.

"We've tried calling her at least like 5 times now and Rachel is known to be a light sleeper. I would think at least one of the calls would wake her up if that was the case." Ashley piped up.

"Plus, we asked the manager of the building if they she had seen Rachel come back in, but she said no." Megan stated.

Maka frowned and looked over each of the girls faces. It didn't seem like they were lying about Rachel suddenly go missing, but why did they have to ask her for help?

'Even though they have been mean to me in the past, it wouldn't be right to just potentially let Rachel get killed if I could help in some way. I'm going to have to investigate where she could have possibly gone off to…'

Maka huffed and finally came to her decision.

"Okay I'll help you guys look for Rachel, but I'm going to need to ask people around the school when they last saw Rachel to get an idea of where she could have gone off to." Maka stated.

"What? We don't have that type of time! By the time you've asked around the school, Rachel could already be dead!" Kate cried out, about to lash out at Maka.

Ashley sighed and pulled Rachel back. "Kate, we'll just have to trust Maka's judgment on this; she has more experience than us after all in dealing with psychos and dangerous missions."

Kate pouted and wiped away a few stray tears that fell from her cheeks. "How long do you think it will take you to find her?"

Maka rubbed her head thoughtfully. 'Technically with my Soul perception, I could probably find where she is right now, but I need to come up with a plan before I just go trying to break in and save her.'

"I'll be able to find her more than likely tomorrow night. At school tomorrow, I'll interview a few people to try and get more details. That way I'll have an idea of who possibly kidnapped her and where she could be at." Maka reasoned.

All four girls sighed and nodded their heads in agreement. Just as they were about to turn around and leave though, Kate suddenly rushed back up to Maka and handed her a piece of paper.

"That's my phone number. Call me or text me any information you find. Got it?" Kate snapped.

Maka rolled her eyes. "Yeah okay, but don't expect me to be sending you any messages until I've collected enough information."

~X~

Maka nearly slid down the door in exhaustion once she finally made it back to the apartment.

'How do I keep ending up in situations like this?' Maka thought to herself with sigh.

"Hey what took you so long to get back Maka? I thought you were just picking up your medicine after you got out of the clinic." Soul asked, walking up to her.

"I did pick it up, but then your fangirls started to harass me." Maka replied back.

Soul's eyes narrowed and Maka noticed his fists tightened slightly. "Did they do something to you? You're not injured are you?"

Maka shook her head. "I'm fine Soul. They were just badgering me about finding their friend Rachel."

Soul looked confused at this so Maka continued on.

"Apparently, Rachel has gone missing. All of her friends were wondering where she went and I just happened to be standing by, so they rushed to me for help." Maka explained.

Soul frowned as he mulled over what Maka had just said. "Don't tell me that you agreed to help them? Aren't all of these girls the ones who have been messing with you?"

Maka nodded her head. "Yes they are, but I won't feel right if I just let Rachel die. What happens if her kidnapper goes after more DWMA students?"

Soul sighed and rubbed a hand through his hair. "Why didn't you just use your Soul Perception to find her before heading home?"

Instead of answering Soul's question, Maka just huffed and walked over to the window.

Soul frowned and followed her to the window. After watching her for a few minutes, Soul came to a realization.

"You know where Rachel is at don't you?" Soul mumbled.

Maka gave him a side glance before looking out the window again. "I not only know where she is, but I know who her abductor is also." 'I would recognize that soul, even from miles away."

"If you knew that, then why didn't you just tell that to Rachel's friends?" Soul grumbled.

"Because then they would try to save her and more than likely end up captured also!" Maka retorted back.

"Rachel's not dead yet is she?" Soul asked suddenly.

Maka shook her head. "She's alive, but I don't know for how long. Travis must be using her as a hostage until I show up."

Soul's eyes widened at this. "Wait a minute, it's Travis who kidnapped her?! You should have said that earlier!"

Maka sighed and looked down. "Travis has just been using Rachel to get to his own needs. He really wants me, not her."

Soul growled and cracked his knuckles. "And what the hell does he want with you? Didn't you look up his past history?"

Maka nodded her head. "Travis is a soul collector. He likes to collect souls that he finds particularly interesting or strong. At his last school, there were incidents of students that had gone missing that people suspected Travis had some part in. Though they never found any evidence that Travis had committed the crimes, they still expelled him for doing other acts such as hitting teachers and students."

"So where do you fit into all of this? Why is Travis so interested in you?" Soul asked.

"Isn't it obvious? I have a grigori soul. Not only is that type of soul rare, but I'm sure Travis looked up the potential benefits he could get from adding it to his collection or just trying to find a way to get power from it." Maka stated.

Soul groaned and placed his hands on Maka's shoulders. "You are not going to go face Travis alone. I won't let you."

Maka sighed, but managed to let out a light laugh when Soul continued to wrap his arms around her.

"I know you weren't going to let me go alone, and I didn't want to go alone anyways. I need you to be with me in order for the plan I have in mind to work." Maka stated.

Soul grinned toothily at that. "You know, this sounds like we're finally going on a mission with each other again. Except that the school didn't notarize it and we could potentially get into severe trouble or danger."

Maka shrugged and gazed back up at Soul. "We've been through worse haven't we?"

~X~

The following morning, Maka walked over to her desk and grabbed her notebook that she liked to use to whenever she needed to detail out plans for a mission she was going on.

Just as Maka was about to leave her room to go wake up Soul, she noticed a crumpled up paper also on her desk.

Maka stared at it for a second, before deciding to open it back up. On the paper was just a short simple reminder she must have written to herself weeks ago.

Make sure to pick up mask and sax from Hiro's locker after school.

'Oh, this must have been before some performance we were about to have.' Maka mused to herself, before crumpling the paper back up and throwing it away into her trash bin.

'Now that I think about it, I haven't really done much as Emerald recently. With me getting sick and all, Masquerade can't really perform as usual. I'm pretty sure Travis doesn't care really, but I wonder how Hiro feels about it.'

Maka sighed and shrugged. "Performing is the last thing on my mind right now anyways." Maka mumbled under her breath, as she knocked on Soul's door.

"So, what's the plan for today?" Soul asked, as they walked to school.

"Well during break, I'm going to ask some NOT students what Rachel was doing in class yesterday. Hopefully, they might tell me something useful that could lead me to at least know how she ended up with Travis." Maka stated.

"That sounds fine with me, but I'm not sure they can give us too much. We should also ask around in our class if anyone saw Rachel walking around after school." Soul stated.

Maka nodded her head in agreement as they climbed up the stairs of the school. Stein's lesson for the day went by rather quickly and when he finally gave class a 10 minute break, Soul and Maka still didn't really have an idea of who they could ask about Rachel.

"Hey, I'm going to go ask Hiro if he knows anything about Rachel missing." Maka said, as she turned in her chair towards Soul.

Soul arched an eyebrow at this. "What makes you think he knows anything about Rachel's disappearance?"

"Um, well I have seen Rachel talking to Hiro in the hallways before in the past. So maybe Hiro has hung out with her before." Maka stated. 'Or at least I know Rachel has bribed him with dates before to try and get information about me…'

Soul shrugged and leaned back in his chair. "Fine, but I doubt he knows anything."

Maka sighed and got up from her chair and walked over to Hiro's seat. Hiro had been looking at a magazine, when he suddenly noticed Maka's presence in slight shock.

"Hey, what brings you here to my desk? I thought you didn't want us talking to each other unless it was after school." Hiro muttered quietly enough, so that no one nearby would hear them.

Maka huffed and shook her head. "It doesn't have anything to do with Emerald. I wanted to know if you talked to Rachel Anderson recently." Maka mumbled back.

Hiro looked confused about who Maka was talking about for a second, before remembering who she was and shaking his head.

"I haven't really spoken to her since she just used me to get information about you. Why, did something happen to her?" Hiro asked.

Maka frowned and nodded her head. "Her friends said she went missing yesterday. I'm just trying to get an idea of who she might have talked to or where she might have been at before she left school."

Hiro sighed and nodded his head in understanding. "Oh I see know. That's pretty nice of you to try and look for her even though she's been a jerk to you. When we actually went out on one date, I got to see she isn't that bad of a person once you get past her Soul worshipping and snotty behavior."

Maka rolled her eyes at this. "I don't get what else there is to Rachel besides those two traits."

Hiro shrugged. "She actually has goals and ambitions to do well and hopefully get into this class."

Maka seemed a bit surprised at hearing that. "Well that's news to me. I guess I shouldn't be so quick to judge her. Anyways, I'm going to continue to ask around and see what other info I can get. Thanks for your help."

Hiro nodded his head and went back to reading his magazine as Maka returned back to her seat.

"So, did he know anything?" Soul asked.

Maka shook her head and twirled her pencil.

Soul frowned as he watched Maka go deep into thought over the situation. He had been watching as Hiro and Maka talked to each other in interest. 'It's odd how comfortable Maka was talking to Hiro of all people. Though I guess it's easy for Maka to talk to most people at this school when she's trying to work on a case.'

Once class was over, Maka made her way over to the cafeteria to try and find Tsugumi and her friends.

"Hi Maka, what brings you by our lunch table?" Tsugumi asked cheerfully.

Maka smiled and greeted her along with Anya and Meme. "I wanted to ask you guys if you knew anything about a girl in your class named Rachel Anderson."

All 3 of the girls thought it over for a minute before Anya spoke up.

"Her and her friends like to talk a lot and cause trouble for Sid and some of our other classmates. They think they are so great when really they're not!" Anya huffed out.

"I've seen Rachel talk to Travis sometimes; she seemed like she was bothering him a bit the other day. Travis doesn't really talk to anyone in our class, so it kind of surprised me when Rachel went up and talked him." Tsugumi stated.

"Wait, who are we talking about again?" Meme asked, completely forgetting who Rachel was.

Maka sighed and thought over what Anya and Tsugumi had told her. "Is that the first time you've seen Rachel talk to Travis?" Maka asked Tsugumi.

Tsugumi shook her head. "They've talked in class maybe once or twice. The last time they talked though, it seemed to really annoy Travis that Rachel was bugging him again."

"What's even stranger is that today, neither Rachel nor Travis came to class or field practice. Her friends were telling Sid that they didn't know where Rachel was and some people were even saying that Travis could have something to do with it." Anya stated.

Maka nodded and made a mental note of what they had told her. "Okay thanks you guys for the information. I'm actually trying to find out where Rachel could have gone and what you guys just told me really helps."

Tsugumi smiled and took a sip from her drink. "Oh were happy to help you anyway Maka! After all, were trying to get to be as good as you someday!"

Maka smiled back and blushed a bit at the compliment. After waving goodbye to them, Maka sat back down and wrote down some notes.

"Looks like you got some good information finally." Soul stated, walking up behind her.

Maka nodded her head, as she finished up writing her notes.

"It seems like Rachel had been bugging Travis a lot to the point he couldn't take it anymore. Though how he ended up kidnapping her is still something I'm not sure on." Maka stated.

"Well I asked some guys in the NOT class and they told me that Rachel had been looking for Travis after school yesterday. Some them even said they saw her leaving out of the boy's dorms all angry yesterday." Soul said.

"She must have needed Travis for something. It's odd that she would just go to all that trouble to look around for him." Maka stated.

Soul sighed and stretched his arms out. "Well, you already know Travis is keeping her at his place more than likely. The question now is how we get to her."

Maka frowned as she glanced back over her notes. "Travis is keeping her in his apartment. I don't know the layout of his apartment, but he'll know we're coming no matter what. We'll need to strike as soon as it gets dark enough outside.

Soul grinned at this. "Good, it's about time that bastard pays for all the trouble he's caused us and other people."

~X~

Maka sighed as she doubled checked the small pack she was carrying with her. All she was bringing with her was some water, a first aid kit, and a pocket knife.

Maka rubbed her forehead in an attempt to ease her growing headache and anxiety.

"Hey, are you almost ready to go Maka?" Soul asked from behind the door.

Maka glanced at her watch. It was currently a quarter till 9 pm. Maka stepped out of her room and greeted Soul.

"You're taking your medicine before we leave right?" Soul asked.

Maka nodded her head. "I already took it, but I still feel a bit on edge."

Soul smiled and pulled her in by the waist. "That's just your nerves getting to you."

Maka sighed and relaxed a bit when Soul suddenly spoke up again in a serious manner. "After we deal with Travis and save Rachel, I want you to be honest with me about everything."

Maka eye's widened as she realized what Soul was talking about. 'That's right; I still never had the chance to tell Soul about Emerald back in the clinic.'

Maka nodded her head in agreement. "I'm sorry I've been keeping secrets from you Soul. I don't want our relationship to contain lies anymore."

Soul pulled her in a bit closer. "Don't worry about it right now Maka. Let's deal with Travis and Rachel first."

Maka quietly agreed, and with that they both left out the door and headed towards Travis's apartment.

Once Soul and Maka reached Travis's apartment, they carefully scoped the area.

"I'm going to go and ask the front desk to confirm that Travis lives here. You look around the area to make sure there aren't any witnesses nearby." Maka stated.

Soul nodded his head in agreement and glanced around the area as Maka talked to the attendant. 'Damn. I expected Travis to live in a better apartment than this. This place looks like it is about to fall apart any second. Though I guess he lives here in order to avoid detection and keep up with his innocent façade.'

Maka walked back up to Soul just as he finished looking around. "Okay he lives on the 3rd floor, 1st door on the left. Let's get this over with."

Soul and Maka climbed the stairs and faced the plain brown door. Soul was about to pick the lock, when Maka suddenly stopped him.

"Hold on Soul. Let me check to see first if both Travis and Rachel are in there." Maka stated, as she concentrated and used her Soul perception.

"Are they both in there?" Soul asked, once he knew Maka was done checking the area.

Maka smiled a bit and turned towards Soul. "We're in luck, I only sense one soul in there and I'm pretty sure it's Rachel's."

Soul arched an eyebrow. "What makes you so sure?"

"Travis's soul is rather strong from all the experience he's had fighting people. This soul I'm sensing isn't like that. In fact, we should hurry; I don't think Rachel is going to last much longer."

Soul nodded and turned one of his fingers into a blade and picked at the lock. After a few minutes, the lock clicked and the door crept open.

"Alright, let's go rescue her." Soul stated, straightened up as they both made their way inside.

Maka and Soul threaded carefully inside. Only the moonlight coming in through the window provided a source of light. Maka scrunched up her nose in anger when she picked up on the faint scent of blood in the air.

"She's in the bathroom; I think it's on the right." Maka whispered, as she walked towards the door and slowly pushed it open.

Maka and Soul's eyes widened as they took in the site of Rachel. Rachel was barely breathing and had her hands and legs tied together. Rachel's normally bright and alert brown eyes were now dull and hazy. It even seemed like Travis had even taken time to make clear and precise cuts along her body to prolong her pain and the bleeding.

Maka snapped out of her shock and quickly went to Rachel's side. "Don't worry Rachel; Soul and I are here now! We won't let Travis hurt you anymore."

Rachel said nothing as she watched Maka untie the ropes that had bounded her.

"Alright Rachel you're free now! Do you need help standing up? Come on Soul, help me lift her up!" Maka said, as she turned her attention back to Soul.

Rachel only curled up into a ball and tried to weakly shove Soul and Maka's hands away.

"You shouldn't have come here. He'll be back soon…" Rachel managed to croak out shakily.

"We know that! That's why we have to hurry now." Maka replied back, reaching out for Rachel again.

Rachel only tried to move further away from Maka's touch.

Maka sighed and stood back up. "What do we do Soul? She's been so traumatized; she won't even accept our help!"

Soul frowned, unsure what to do also until another voice spoke up.

"Rachel is right; you two really shouldn't have come here. I can't say I'm surprised though. It's about time I finally got your grigori soul Maka." Travis stated, as he leaned against the door's frame.

Maka glared and glanced towards Soul who nodded in agreement and turned into his scythe form.

Travis sighed and stepped back a bit.

"Well, I was hoping I could get to you without a fight, but it seems like that won't be the case." Travis mused with a cold laugh, as he turned his arm into a sickle and rushed towards them.

Author's Note: That's it for Chapter 23! Let me know what you think with a review, and as always thanks for reading!"


	24. Infiltration Part 2

Chapter 24: Infiltration Part 2

Maka quickly dodged Travis's blade and countered by swinging her blade towards Travis's right.

Travis frowned and swiftly blocked with his own blade and jumped back.

"I don't think this is exactly the best place to have our fight, don't you think so?" Travis mused with a chuckle as he casted a glance towards Rachel.

Maka growled and gripped her scythe even tighter. "I'm not letting you get away this time. You're going to pay for all the pain and trouble you've caused others." Maka finished with a scowl, before lunging forward to strike a direct hit on Travis.

Maka's attack caused Travis to get pushed back against the wall outside the bathroom.

Maka hurriedly followed Travis out the door and noticed that Travis had set off a smoke bomb in the few seconds that had passed.

'Great, he's trying to go for some sneak attacks.' Maka thought to herself, as she stepped carefully out of the hallway and back into the living room.

"Maka, let's be careful. Travis probably set off his whole apartment with different types of bombs." Soul stated, using the eye of his scythe form to look around.

Maka didn't reply back as she suddenly covered up her mouth and stepped back slightly in alarm.

"What's wrong Maka?! Did Travis attack again?" Soul asked sharply.

Maka shook her head, but uncovered her mouth a bit so she could properly speak. "This isn't a normal smoke bomb that Travis set off. It's filled with toxic fumes that I just breathed in!"

"What! Damn it we need to end this fight fast then! Maka concentrate and use your Soul perception so we can find him through this smog." Soul replied back.

Travis's laughter came out amidst the fog. "What's wrong Maka? Can't handle a few chemical fumes? You two trying to play hero will end up costing you your lives."

Travis suddenly approached from behind Maka and managed to land a slash along her shoulder blade.

Maka quickly moved aside before Travis could finish cutting her and bit back a scream as she clutched at her injured shoulder and back.

"Maka focus! Don't forget you have me here as your weapon! We won't be able to finish him off unless we work together!" Soul snapped out angrily.

Maka panted as she stood back up properly. 'Soul is right. I'm not handling this situation the right way. I need to pay attention and listen for what side Travis is going to attack from.'

Maka narrowed her eyes and studied the room carefully for any sudden movements. With her soul perception, Maka could see Travis standing towards her left pacing back and forth.

"Maka, aren't you making this a little too easy for me? I expected more out of you now that you even have your weapon with you for this fight. I guess you're still weak with or without your weapon." Travis mused out harshly.

"Don't let what he says get to you Maka. He's just trying to get under our skin and distract us." Soul whispered.

Maka nodded her head in agreement as Travis moved to attack her again. Just as Travis was about to land a hit to Maka's torso, Maka blocked him and slid her leg under Travis's foot to trip him.

Travis stumbled over a bit and Maka used the opportunity to slice along the back of both his legs.

Travis fell over and let out a stream of curses as he wobbly tried to stand back up.

"You bitch. That was a dirty move you just played there." Travis spat out coldly.

Maka smirked before letting out a small cough. 'I need to hurry and finish this. I can't continue to breathe in this in air for much longer.'

Travis grinned as he finally managed to shakily get to his feet. "You won't be able to fight for much longer. You haven't dealt with the smell of chemicals and poisons like I have. Pretty soon you'll be passed out on the ground just like Rachel." Travis finished with a snicker before rushing towards Maka again.

Maka watched as Travis approached her and readied herself. 'Okay, this is the best chance I'm going to get to finally end this battle. All I need for him to do is just get a little bit closer…'

Travis struck out his sickle arm, about to pierce Maka's chest, only to find he had ended up hitting the air instead.

Travis frowned and stood back. 'What's going on? I know she was in this area. I would have heard her move or the sound of her scythe if she had changed positions.'

Maka watched as Travis hurriedly looked around for her in the smoke. As soon as Travis had struck out his arm, Maka had crouched down and hid behind a nearby chair.

"Alright Maka, let's finish this bastard off once and for all." Soul mumbled.

Maka nodded and stood back up and started to dash towards Travis just as he turned around to face her. Travis moved to lift up his arm, but gaped when he realized that Maka had stabbed him straight through his chest with the blade of her scythe.

Travis stared down at his chest, then back up at Maka as she pulled the blade out.

Travis quickly covered his hand to the stab wound as blood began to leak out. After poorly trying to apply pressure to the wound, Travis eventually fell to his knees and met Maka's jade green eyes.

Travis glared at her for a minute before letting out a manic laugh and coughing up some blood. "I can't believe you actually stabbed me! I didn't think you had it in you to kill a human."

Maka stared at him coldly. "You're more like a Kishin than you are a human. People like you who only kidnap and kill people for the fun of it to collect their souls are sick. I'm surprised you aren't on the DWMA's most wanted list."

Travis finished laughing and managed to shakily wipe away some of the blood from his mouth. "That's because your stupid school has only been focusing on trying to stop the Kishin until just recently really. It's okay though, I have the last laugh. You won't ever be able to find a cure for that poison that's already in your blood."

As Travis finished his last sentence, he coughed up a bit more blood before falling over and completely going silent.

Maka watched him for minute, just to make sure he wasn't going to make any sudden movements before letting out a small sigh of relief.

Soul quickly returned back to his human form and caught Maka just as she was about to tumble.

"Hey stay with me Maka! We still need to get out of here!" Soul shouted, trying to keep Maka awake.

Maka nodded her head and rushed towards a nearby window and opened it up. Maka immediately took in a breath of fresh air and tried to calm her racing heart and mind.

'It's finally over. Thank goodness it's finally over. We need to hurry back to Rachel and get out of here…'

X~

As Maka finished breathing in some fresh air and fumigating the room of the toxic fumes, Soul came back into the room carrying Rachel on his back.

"Alright, let's get the hell out of here." Soul stated tiredly.

Maka nodded her head as she gazed back outside. The sky was already starting to gain a mix of dark orange and red upon the horizon.

"Did time really fly by that fast? It appears that we've been fighting all night if the sun is starting to rise now." Maka noted.

Soul frowned and glanced at his watch. It was currently about 5:30 am. "Yeah, I guess we have been fighting for a few hours. We need to get Rachel and you checked out at the nearest hospital."

The walk to Death city's hospital at the crack of dawn was somber for both Maka and Soul as they reflected over the last few hours.

Travis's last words still echoed in Maka's head as she gripped the makeshift bandage she had applied to the wound he gave her. 'It's okay though, I have the last laugh. You won't ever be able to find a cure for that poison that's already in your blood...'

Maka coughed and tried to shake away the thought. 'Travis could have just been saying that to find one last way to mess with me. I'm sure Professor Stein has already found a cure by now.'

Soul watched as Maka walked unsteadily and grabbed her hand to help her keep her balance.

"Don't worry Maka, we're almost there now. It's just a few blocks further."

Once Maka and Soul finally made it inside the main lobby of the hospital, a team of nurses immediately took Rachel off Soul's back and sent her off to the intensive care unit. Another pair of nurses noticed Maka's condition and helped get her into a wheelchair to take her to the wound care unit.

Soul frowned and started to follow after the nurses as they started to wheel Maka away.

One of the nurses noticed Soul was trying to follow them and pointed him back towards the exit. "I'm sorry sir, but your friend here needs to have her wound and condition checked out by the doctors and surgeons on call. You'll need to wait back in our waiting room until we can call you back."

Soul growled and was about to argue back that he wouldn't leave Maka alone until Maka spoke up.

"Soul I'll be fine. You should go back home and get some rest anyways. You're the only one who didn't really end up getting injured after all. When school starts though, I need you to tell Professor Stein that Travis's apartment needs to be investigated for all the souls he's collected."

Soul was about to argue against Maka's arrangement, but the glare Maka sent him made any words he planned to say remain in his head.

Soul sighed and gave Maka a quick kiss on her forehead. "I'll be back in a few hours, I promise."

Maka nodded her head and gave Soul one last smile before the nurses turned around and wheeled her quickly down the hall.

Soul frowned as he watched Maka disappear further and further from his view.

'Damn it, how can Maka honestly expect I'll be able to get any sleep after the night we've just had?'

~X~

Soul groaned and trudged back into the apartment in exhaustion. It was now just a little past 6 am and Soul realized it was getting close to around the time that Maka usually woke him up for school.

'It seems like I might be able to get in maybe an hour or two of sleep, but I doubt it.' Soul thought grouchily, as he walked towards his room.

Soul was about to enter back into his room, but suddenly stopped and turned his attention back towards Maka's.

'I should probably go get Maka's medicine from her room. I'm pretty sure I'll need to give it to Stein later on or at least give it to one of the doctors when they ask about any medications Maka is taking.' Soul reasoned to himself, as he pushed open Maka's door.

Soul glanced around Maka's room in search of the two medicine bottles. Soul finally noticed them on top of Maka's desk and picked one of them up while the other fell to the ground. Soul sighed and reached down to pick up the bottle and noticed a crumpled up paper in Maka's trash can as he stood back up.

Soul stared at the paper ball curiously, a part of him wanted to be nosy about what Maka had thrown away, but another half of him told him that it was probably nothing.

After mulling it over for a few seconds, Soul shrugged and picked up the paper and unfolded it out. There was only one sentence on the paper, but it was enough for Soul to shake off the sleepiness he had been having.

Make sure to pick up mask and sax from Hiro's locker after school.

Soul read over the sentence twice before crumpling it back up and throwing it away.

Soul walked out of Maka's room and went back to his own. 'Well for once, I actually look forward to going to school. I guess I'll finally find out what type of double life Maka has been having after all…'

Soul only managed to get in about an hour and a half of sleep before having to get up and head to school. Soul groaned and walked slowly to school until Black Star popped up next to him.

"Hey man, didn't you hear me calling you down the block?! It's not polite to ignore your God like that! By the way, why isn't Maka with you?" Black Star yelled out.

Soul growled and ignored Black Star's rambling as he continued to walk ahead of him towards the school.

Black Star frowned and was about to yell even louder at Soul for ignoring his presence, when Tsubaki put a hand on his shoulder.

Tsubaki shook her head as she watched Soul walk away. "Something seems to really be bothering Soul; It looks like he barely got any sleep. Let's not pressure him with any questions until he calms down."

Black Star huffed and eventually nodded his head. "It must be bad if Maka isn't with him. I hope she's okay."

Soul basically slept off and on throughout the majority of Stein's lesson. When class was finally over, Soul approached Stein and handed him Maka's medicine bottles.

Stein looked at Soul in confusion. "Why are you giving those to me? Maka needs those doesn't she?"

Soul shook his head. "Maka's in the hospital right now. We fought Travis last night and she inhaled a bit of the toxic smoke he had set off with a bomb."

Stein frowned and finished erasing his notes off the board. "Follow me to my office where we can finish discussing this."

Soul sighed as he took a seat across from Stein once again.

"So explain to me what happened. What caused you two to go after Travis so suddenly? Did Maka suddenly just stop taking her medicine?" Stein asked.

Soul shook his head. "The last time Maka took her medicine was last night. The reason we went after Travis was because he had kidnapped a girl from the NOT class and we went to rescue her." Soul explained.

"Maka told he me to tell you that his apartment still needs to be investigated for the souls that he's kept there as collector's items. I also wanted to ask you if you could possibly give Maka a stronger dose of the medicine you prescribed her or better yet, if you had come up with an antidote yet." Soul continued on.

Stein sighed as he glanced back down at the antibiotics and antivenin tablets. "Well I can get people to look into Travis's apartment that's no problem, but I still haven't come up with an antidote."

Soul growled and slammed his fists on Stein's desk. "What the hell is taking you so long?! The medicine you gave Maka won't help her now that she inhaled more poison!"

Stein clasped his hands together and gave Soul a blank stare. "You act as if I haven't been trying to work on a cure. This isn't good that Maka was exposed to more of the toxin. It's possible now that the toxin in her will start to grow and rapidly divide again unless the surgeons at the hospital find a way to remove that main organism causing the problem."

"So what do you plan to do now?" Soul questioned tiredly, as he calmed back down.

"I'll head over to the hospital and get a good look at Maka's condition. Did anything else happen to Maka or the girl that Travis kidnapped?" Stein asked, standing up.

"Maka got a cut to her shoulder blade and we aren't sure what Travis did to Rachel. She was tied up and had some cuts and bruises on her. When Maka and I first got to the hospital, the nurses swiftly took her away to intensive care and took Maka to wound care." Soul stated.

"Why didn't they check you out also? Weren't you exposed to the air also?" Stein questioned.

Soul nodded his head. "I was, but I was in my weapon form for the most part, and Maka swinging me around really blocked me from inhaling as much as she did."

Stein sighed and nodded his head in understanding. "I'll go check on Maka's condition. I'll call you if anything major comes up."

Soul smiled a bit in relief as he followed Stein out of his office. As soon as Stein had disappeared down the hallway though, the smile on Soul's face immediately slipped.

'Well if I try to go back to the hospital now, they'll probably just turn me away again until Maka fully gets properly checked out. I guess to kill time, I'll go find Hiro and clear up a few questions I have for him.'

~X~

Soul found Hiro eventually hanging outside on the patio of a popular bistro just a few blocks away from the school.

Soul came up to him and effectively blocked him from getting up from his seat or escaping.

Hiro frowned and squirmed slightly in his chair. "Uh, what brings you here Soul? I didn't think you were the type to like the foods this restaurant sells."

Soul scoffed and glared angrily at Hiro. "Cut the crap Hiro. I need to you to answer me a few questions and be honest with me here."

Hiro gulped before quickly nodding his head in agreement.

"Why does Maka keep a saxophone and a mask in your locker?" Soul asked, straight to the point.

Hiro's eyes widened in shock, before he eventually let out a sigh. "I guess I should have known that this was eventually going to happen."

Soul eyes narrowed, so Hiro continued to explain. "Um, well I've been giving Maka music lessons for the past few months, so sometimes I let her leave her saxophone in my locker. She uses the mask to hide her face when we perform at a nearby club."

Soul looked annoyed. "I thought I told you to be honest with me."

Hiro frowned and nervously twirled his index finger on the table. "I am telling you the truth! In return for giving Maka music lessons, she would give me advice on how to get stronger so people would stop using me as their errand boy."

"Why would Maka go to you of all people for help though?" Soul asked.

Hiro looked slightly offended, but spoke up. "Well we kind of just made the agreement back in a music store a few months ago."

Soul sighed and stood back up. "What was the name of the music store?"

Hiro scratched his head and tried to think back. "I think it was called Music Mania. It had just opened up back when we first made the arrangement."

Soul wrote the name of the place down on a nearby napkin. "What about the mask?"

"Oh, Maka got that from me. I guess you want to know where we perform at. It's the White Lily Pub and Café." Hiro stated.

Soul added the name of the café to the napkin and grinned toothily back at Hiro.

"Thanks for the info. I'll leave you back to your meal now." Soul stated, as he turned around and left out of the bistro.

Hiro let out a sigh and rubbed his head nervously. "Maka's going to be pissed when she finds out I told Soul everything, but I'm pretty sure he was going to start using his fists soon if I didn't tell him what he wanted to know."

Soul decided his first stop should be to Music Mania since that was where he was closest to.

"Hello! How can I help you young man?" Mr. Clark asked Soul as he walked in.

Soul looked around the store curiously. 'How come this is my first time hearing about this place?"

Soul walked up to Mr. Clark after glancing around the store for a bit. "I wanted to know if you sold a saxophone to a girl with ash blonde hair in pigtails a few weeks ago."

Mr. Clark frowned and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't remember every customer that's came into our store over the past few months."

"Don't be silly! I know who he's talking about! Remember it was that one girl who came in with that other blonde kid who seemed like a cute couple!" Cindy stated, leaving the cash register to walk up to the two of them.

"Dear, I've told you not to interrupt me when I'm talking to customers!" Mr. Clark grumbled towards his wife who only huffed and walked away.

A few minutes passed when suddenly Mr. Clark snapped his fingers and turned back towards Soul.

"Now that I think about it, my wife actually helped jog my memory back a bit. There was a girl who came here with a guy late one afternoon and bought a saxophone when we first opened up this store. I remember she was really excited about learning how to play it. I wonder if she's gotten any better now…"

Soul grinned at the information he had just gotten. 'That must have been the day Maka bought the saxophone and started her lessons with Hiro.'

"Thanks for the information, I appreciate it." Soul stated, as he left out of the store.

Cindy frowned as she watched Soul leave the store before turning back towards her husband.

"That boy didn't even buy anything! Why didn't you at least try to persuade him to buy something?"

~X~

Soul looked outside the White Lily Pub and Café with a mix of confusion and interest. This was the same club that he had talked to Liz about before that invited a variety of guest musicians and jazz players to play for the audience on different days of the week.

'Could Maka really be one of the people who played at this club?' Soul thought to himself, before eventually heading inside.

"Hello! Welcome to the White Lily Pub and Café!" Jessica greeted from behind her booth.

Soul greeted her back before looking around at the peaceful layout of the club. How exactly could he ask if Maka played here if he wasn't even sure himself?

"Is there someone you are looking for sir?" Jessica asked, breaking Soul out of his thoughts.

"Well I was wondering if this certain group or person performed here." Soul grumbled back.

"Hmm well we do have a lot of different people come and play here, but our most popular group as of late is Masquerade." Jessica replied back.

"Masquerade huh?" Soul mused quietly.

"Yeah, I'm sure you've heard of them! They're quite the popular group even when they added a third member." Jessica stated excitedly.

"I've heard of them. Do you have any like CD's of them or old recordings of them playing?" Soul asked.

"Sure! Actually business is kind of slow right now so I don't mind playing you a video recording I did on my phone." Jessica stated, moving away from her booth to walk over towards the bar.

Soul nodded his head in agreement and took a seat at one of the bar stools. Jessica took a seat next to him and handed him her phone.

"Sorry if it's a bit hard to hear. The audience could get a bit loud at times." Jessica said.

Soul nodded his head and focused on the video clip. It showed both Emerald and Diamond on stage playing some type of classical song. Soul took particular note of Emerald's long curly hair and the jade green mask she used to obscure her face. Even the clothes she was wearing looked expensive like the latest trends one could only find in high end malls.

'Even without the mask, Emerald looks like Maka when she keeps her hair down except it's even longer than normal. I'm not sure where Maka got those clothes though.' Soul thought.

"That's one of their older shows when they first started out playing here. They've grown to have a large amount of fans since that video!" Jessica explained, once the video clip had ended.

"Do you know anything about them personally?" Soul asked.

Jessica shook her head. "To be honest, they all seem to be very private people. I guess that's what keeps fans so interested in them is their mysterious nature. They never tell me what their real names are and prefer to just be called by their stage names."

"Does it look like they enjoy playing?" Soul continued to ask.

"Yeah they've really grown into their roles. Emerald I could tell was nervous to play for people at first, it actually still shows that she isn't completely comfortable on stage, but I can tell that she has at least improved in her playing with others and alone." Jessica replied back.

Soul nodded his head as his mind replayed the footage he had just seen.

'Maka and Emerald must be the same person. But why would Maka go to all this trouble to keep it a secret from me? Why would she go to Hiro for help and possibly even Travis when I was always right by her side?' Soul thought gloomily.

Soul sighed and hopped off the bar stool to head home.

"Hey wait are you a fan of Masquerade?" Jessica asked from behind him.

Soul shrugged. "Not really. I don't know much about them." 'Well at least I thought I knew one of the group member's well…'

Jessica smiled and walked back to her booth. "It's been awhile since I've heard from them, but you should stop by again if you ever get the time to. They normally play on Wednesdays at 4 pm. I'm sure you'll become more of a fan of them once you hear them play enough, but you'll have to watch out for Emerald's fanboys!"

Soul sighed and nodded his head as he finally left out the doors. Once Soul made it back to the apartment, he quietly walked back into Maka's room and confirmed his suspicions by finding her sax and mask underneath her bed.

'I can't believe I didn't pay more attention to the obvious signs. If Maka lied to me about this, I wonder what else she has been keeping a secret from me.' Soul thought with a groan, as he looked over the mask.

Just as Soul was about to go back to his room, Soul suddenly heard his phone go off.

"Hello?" Soul answered gruffly.

"Yes Soul? It's me Professor Stein. Maka has been moved from the wound care unit into critical care. I think you might want to come down here as soon as possible."

Author's Note: That's it for Chapter 24! Let me know what you think with a review and as always thanks for reading!


	25. Confrontation In My Mind

Chapter 25: Confrontation in my Mind

Soul nearly dropped his phone in shock when he heard what Dr. Stein said.

"What happened to Maka?!" Soul managed to yell out.

"It's too much to explain over the phone; just come back to the hospital as soon as you can. The critical care unit is on the 10th floor." Stein replied back, before hanging up.

Soul growled and let out a curse under his breath as he gripped his phone tightly.

'Damn it, I never should have left Maka alone.' Soul thought anxiously to himself, as he quickly went back to his room and grabbed his stuff.

Soul ran as fast as he could to the hospital and was nearly out of breath by the time he finally reached the floor.

"So Stein told you the news also?" A familiar voice stated, walking up to Soul.

Soul looked up and realized it was Spirit who was addressing him.

Soul shook his head. "All he told me was that Maka was in critical condition and that I needed to come down here immediately."

Spirit sighed and nodded his head. "Stein didn't tell me much either, but he told me that you two were fighting some guy and Maka ended up poisoned?"

Soul frowned and nodded his head. "Yeah he set off a smoke bomb that Maka inhaled a bit of. She was just starting to recover from her earlier illness and now this happens."

Spirit looked down solemnly before turning back around.

"Well Maka is in the bed just down the hallway. Stein is still trying to stabilize her condition, so we'll have to wait outside for a bit." Spirit stated, as he started to walk down the corridor.

Soul sighed and followed after Spirit warily. The whole critical care floor brought back grim memories of when he had first been exposed to the black blood and had experienced disturbing nightmares.

Spirit eventually stopped in front of a closed curtain, causing Soul to bump into him.

"She's in that bed. Stein will come out when it's okay for us to see her." Spirit stated, taking a seat across from the curtain.

Soul took the seat next to him and casted a quick glance at Spirit.

Spirit seemed to be completely drained of energy. From what Soul could see, there were still remnants of faint tear stains along his cheeks and he looked completely numb with both shock and fear.

"You know when I first arrived here; I actually managed to get a brief glimpse at Maka. I've never seen her look so pale, even when she's been sick before. She had so many IV lines in her and all these machines beeping next to her and monitoring her. Though Maka is a strong girl, this poison really took a toll on her." Spirit mumbled quietly, as he gazed straight ahead.

Soul sighed and leaned his head back in the chair. An agonizing 45 minutes passed before Stein finally came out from behind the curtain.

Soul and Spirit instantly turned their attention towards him to hear what he had to say.

Stein exhaled and gave them both a small smile. "Glad to see you made it here quickly Soul. Maka's condition has improved, but it's going to take a while for her to regain back her strength."

Soul let out a breathe he hadn't realized he had been holding in and managed to smile back. "Is it okay if I go in and see her?"

Stein nodded his head. "I don't see why not, but just keep your voice down and try not to touch any of the machines."

Soul nodded his head in agreement and pushed the curtain aside to be by Maka's side.

Spirit stood up and held back from walking in. "Be honest with me Stein, Maka's condition hasn't improved that well has it?"

Stein frowned and rubbed his forehead tiredly. "Well yes and no. I was able to remove the main organism that caused Maka to be poisoned in the first place, but too much of it has already multiplied in her blood that I can't remove."

Spirit groaned and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "None of the stronger doses of antibiotics or antivenin worked?"

Stein shook his head. "I tried using stronger doses and alternative types of medicine, but all of them only seemed to help her condition temporarily."

"So nothing can be done to cure the poison, not even something like a blood transfusion would help? Is she going to eventually die from it?" Spirit asked restlessly.

"Well I don't believe she'll die from it, but she'll have to continue taking the antibiotics and antivenin tablets for the rest of her life more than likely. She'll also need to have check-ups every few months or so just to make sure the poison isn't causing any major damage to her organs." Stein stated.

Spirit looked depressed at this news, but gave Stein a weak smile. "Thank you at least for being able to get rid of the main organism that caused the problem in the first place. I'm sure both Soul and Maka aren't going to take the news well though."

Stein nodded his head. "It's like dealing with the black blood all over again."

~X~

Soul sighed as he took a seat next to Maka's right and took in her appearance. Maka looked even paler than the time she had fainted back in class a few weeks ago. Her hair was slightly in disarray and was no longer in its usual pigtails with some parts of it sticking to her face due to sweat.

Soul stood up and moved her hair out of her face while trying to avoid the IV line in her arm. If it wasn't for the fact that Maka was sweating and had a fatigued disposition, Soul could have assumed that Maka was just resting from a long day.

Soul carefully grabbed Maka's right hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

'I wonder if she can even hear me or feel my touch right now…' Soul thought, before scooting forward to bring the chair closer to the bed.

Soul watched Maka sleep for a few minutes before deciding to speak up.

"I don't know if you can hear me Maka, but I'll be right here by your side until you wake up." Soul stated quietly.

Maka kept on sleeping and breathing evenly, so Soul decided to continue on.

"While you've been in this hospital, I actually found out some pretty interesting information. I know you'll probably give me a Maka-chop for going through your business, but I found that little reminder you wrote to yourself that you threw away. I can't believe you went through so much trouble to keep your life as Emerald away from me, but I'm assuming you must have been trying to tell me about it before all this happened." Soul explained.

"You know, I wouldn't mind hearing you play your saxophone someday once you get better." Soul finished with a sigh.

As Maka continued to slumber, Soul pondered if he should even bother to continue talking to her.

Soul rubbed Maka's hand gently as he thought over what he could talk about next. 'I wonder if it would be possible to resonant with her even though she's unconscious. Maka's been able to reach me in my Black Room in the past, even when it seemed like the black blood was about to make me go insane. Maybe it would be possible to do the same with her…'

Soul concentrated and lightly gripped Maka's hand. This probably wasn't going to work, but it was worth a shot. Soul focused on Maka and closed his eyes to block out all the noises surrounding him. After concentrating for a few minutes, Soul reopened his eyes and to his surprise saw that he was no longer in the hospital room sitting next to Maka.

~X~

Soul glanced around in confusion. It appeared as if Soul was now in a large library with rows of books surrounding him on all sides.

'Did resonating with Maka work? I'm definitely not in the hospital anymore; this must be Maka's own personal room in her mind. I guess that makes sense, Maka's favorite place to go is the library. Now I just need to find where she is…' Soul thought to himself, as he started to walk around.

Soul sighed as he walked through different aisles of books. Maka wasn't sitting down reading a book like he expected her to be. Eventually after walking around for a few minutes, Soul decided to pick up one of the books just to see what it was about.

Soul gazed at the title of the book in amusement: Book of Memories Age 5.

"These aren't normal books at all; each of them must be about something that's happened to Maka throughout her life." Soul reasoned aloud.

Soul opened up the book and found there were no words on any of the pages. 'That's weird. How do these books work?'

Suddenly, a picture of Maka appeared on the page Soul was open to and a voice spoke up that sounded like a younger Maka talking.

Today Papa took me to my first day of Kindergarten. He told me that later on, either he or Mama would be back to pick me up. I hope they start getting along better, I miss being able to go places with the both of them. I hope I make a lot of good friends here…

Soul continued to stare as the pictures on each page seemed to come to life and allow him to see everything through Maka's point of view. The next image that came up showed the younger Maka talking to what appeared to be a younger version of Black Star.

"Hey, how come it took you so long to understand the patterns during our music lesson earlier?" Black Star asked bluntly, as he munched on his sandwich.

Maka blushed and looked down slightly. "I didn't understand what each of the notes meant, so I couldn't keep up the rest of you guys when the beat for song started up."

Black Star laughed, causing him to spit food everywhere. "That's funny Maka! Normally you're so good at everything, but for once you actually suck at something!"

Maka huffed and glared at Black Star as he continued to snort and laugh. Maka eventually got up from her seat and picked up a nearby book.

Maka stood next to Black Star and raised the book high above her head. "Maka-chop!" Maka yelled out, as she slammed the book hard against Black Star's head.

"Ouch! What was the heck is a Maka-chop?!" Black Star cried out, as he tried to move away from Maka.

Maka let out a humph and set the book down. "It's a hit I give people when they do something wrong!"

Black Star frowned and let out a scoff. "What did I do wrong?"

"Make fun of me! Friends aren't supposed to be mean to each other!" Maka retorted back, as she sat down again.

Black Star sighed and sat back down. "If you needed help in understanding music, you should have come to me. After all, I know everything!"

Maka let out a laugh and shook her head in disagreement. "You didn't know the answer to that one math problem."

"That was different! Anyways I'm not going to need to know math in the future to be a God!" Black Star stated proudly.

"Maybe you're right, but I hate that I'm so behind everyone else in music. I wonder if Papa or Mama could help me a bit more…"

Soul closed the book and set it back down. 'So Maka's been bad at music pretty much her whole life. I guess I haven't helped her any by teasing her about it.'

Soul continued to walk through the rows of books, occasionally glancing at the title of different books.

Soul eventually came to the end of a row and noticed a particularly larger book that stood out from the rest.

"I wonder what that book is about." Soul grumbled, as he lifted up the book and glanced at the title. Book of Secrets

Soul was about to open up the book when a voice coughed from behind him.

~X~

"Why have you been going through my personal thoughts?!" Maka snapped, as she grabbed the book from Soul and placed it back on the shelf.

"Wait a minute; how are you even here? This is my own personal mind. Are you even the real Soul?" Maka asked, as she looked Soul up and down.

Soul huffed and nodded his head. "Well you're unconscious from the effects of the fight we had with Travis. I wanted to see if I could resonant with you like how you could reach me in my Black Room. I guess it worked."

Maka narrowed her eyes, still distrustful of what Soul had to say. After thinking it over for a few minutes, Maka let out a sigh and walked past Soul back out into the open area of the library.

Soul frowned and followed after Maka. He noticed that Maka was wearing a dark green emerald ball gown, similar to the one she wore to Kid's Gala with her hair down instead of in its usual pigtails.

Soul chuckled and let out a whistle. "You certainly dress up nicely just to read some books or think about different topics."

Maka blushed and let out a scoff. "You're always in your pin striped suit when I go to your Black Room, so I wouldn't talk!"

Maka eventually came to a stop and took a seat next to a pile of papers. Soul sat down next to her and picked one of the papers up.

"Hey these are music sheets. Were you trying to think up a new song to play on your sax?' Soul questioned.

Maka shook her head before realizing what Soul had just said. "How do you know about my saxophone?" Maka stuttered out.

Soul sighed and gently grabbed both of Maka's hands. "I did a bit of investigating, and I found out what you were trying to tell me. You've been playing your sax at the White Lily Pub and Café as Emerald right?"

Maka eye's widened before she slowly nodded her head. "I'm sorry I kept it a secret from you for so long Soul…"

Soul smiled and pulled her in even closer. "It's okay Maka; I guess I can kind of see why you kept it from me. I do make fun of you for being so bad at music sometimes."

Maka frowned and leaned her head against Soul's chest. "No, it still wasn't right for me to keep it from you! While it is true part of the reason was because I was afraid of dealing with the embarrassment of you teasing me, I also was being blackmailed by Travis."

Soul growled and tightened his grip around Maka. "That bastard still causes us trouble even when he's dead."

Maka shook her head. "It's my fault for making things complicated. If I had just told you from the start I was getting lessons from Hiro, he wouldn't have had anything to use against me or tell to the whole school about."

"Why were you so embarrassed by it though? And why did it take you so long to finally get the nerve to tell me?" Soul asked.

Maka sighed and twiddled her thumbs. "Well because I was getting help from Hiro! I don't like having to admit I needed help, especially from someone the whole school likes to make fun of. Still though, Hiro taught me a lot about music and I helped him gain a bit more confidence in himself at the least sort of."

Soul frowned and grumbled something under his breathe that Maka didn't catch.

"What was that Soul? Speak up!" Maka stated, gazing up at him.

Soul huffed and looked away with a blush. "I said: you could have gone to me for help if you really needed it."

Maka smiled and gazed back at her music sheets. "I did want to go to you for help at times, but I didn't want to distract you from your death scythe duties. And besides, I wanted to someday show you how much I had improved and maybe play a duet with you." Maka stated in a rush.

Soul nearly didn't catch what Maka said, but grinned and lifted Maka's chin up.

"Who said you and I couldn't have a duet?" Soul asked.

"Um, well no one really. I just didn't really know how to ask you." Maka replied back.

"Well I'm listening now." Soul stated, as he focused his crimson eyes on Maka.

Maka let out a breath and gazed back into Soul's eyes. "Soul, would you please have a duet with me?"

Soul grinned and nodded his head. "Of course I will Maka. Now let's seal the deal with a kiss." Soul finished, as he gently pressed his lips against Maka's.

Maka let out a soft moan and wrapped her arms around Soul's neck as he pulled her into his lap. Soul nibbled lightly against her bottom lip, before moving to press kisses along her neck.

Maka sighed in pleasure and tugged Soul closer to her, before suddenly letting out a gasp and pushing him away slightly.

"What's wrong Maka? Are we moving too fast?" Soul asked.

Maka blushed and shook her head. "I just realized that I probably shouldn't get too close to you."

Soul frowned in confusion. "Why do you think that?"

"Well you said it yourself. We're resonating so strongly right now; I don't want to possibly accidently infect you with the poison that's in my system." Maka stated.

Soul scoffed and leaned back in the chair. "I don't think that's anything to worry about."

Maka huffed and flicked a finger against Soul's cheek slightly. "Well I think it is. I would hate for you to be tainted with both poison and black blood at the same time!"

Soul sighed and kissed Maka's cheek gently. "Maka please stop blaming yourself for the Black Blood incident. It's my job as your weapon to protect you, and I would take that slash wound to the chest again if I had to."

Maka pouted and shook her head. "That's where you're wrong Soul. You stopped being my weapon as soon as I made you into a death scythe. You're Kid's weapon now, not mine."

Soul groaned and rubbed his head in irritation. "I don't care if I'm technically Kid's weapon now. To me, you'll always be my meister and no one else."

Maka sighed, before eventually smiling a bit.

"You know, I can't believe you went through the trouble of investigated all the places I went to as Emerald. How come you don't work this hard when it comes to training or doing your homework?" Maka asked.

Soul shrugged. "Probably because you're more important to me than any homework Professor Stein gives us or the training I have to do with Kid."

Maka blushed and looked down. 'Soul is certainly giving me a lot of compliments. I wonder if being in my mind is influencing his behavior to say all this stuff or if he really means it.'

"Of course I meant everything I said, why would you think I would make any of this up?" Soul asked, appearing to have read Maka's thoughts.

Maka huffed and hopped out of Soul's lap. "Stop reading my thoughts! Go back to the real world now!"

Soul stood back up and turned Maka around to face him. "Will you wake up once I go back?"

Maka didn't say anything for a second before nodding her head. "I'm still fighting the poison, but I'll try."

Soul frowned and looked around. "Where is the poison at anyways? You know like how the black blood in me manifests itself as that annoying little demon…"

Maka sighed and stepped back slightly. "It's different in my mind…I don't have a little demon who constantly tries to bother me."

"Well what do you have then?" Soul asked curiously.

Maka's forest green eyes seemed to go dull. "Something like a ghost who tries to take over me."

Soul didn't understand what Maka meant, until he noticed Maka's eyes go from their usual jade green color to a mysterious dark purple.

"Whoa Maka what's going on? Fight the poison!" Soul cried out, as he started to shake Maka's shoulders.

Maka gazed at him with an empty and cold expression for a few seconds, before eventually coming to.

"Sorry about that, that must have startled you. I know it might sound strange to you, but the poison in me is not like your ogre. It's more like a disembodied spirit that I can only I see and hear that tries to manipulate me. It's just a matter of me learning how to control it before it controls me." Maka explained.

Soul frowned before eventually nodding his head. "I don't completely understand all of it, but I know you can find a way to master it like how I did with my black blood."

Maka smiled and agreed. "You should go back now Soul. Don't worry I'll be there with you."

Soul sighed and pressed his forehead against Maka's. "You'd better be. It's annoying dealing with your Dad alone.

~X~

Soul focused his mind on returning back to reality and slowly opened his eyes as he came to.

"You certainly picked an odd position to go to sleep in." Stein stated, walking up next to him.

Soul frowned and took a good look around. It seemed like he was back in the hospital room again as if nothing had happened.

"How long was I out?" Soul asked.

Stein shrugged and took a quick glance at his watch. "I would say maybe about an hour now. Spirit was wondering if you had passed out since you weren't moving or talking."

Soul scoffed and looked around for him. "Why didn't he just check up on me if he was so concerned?"

Stein smirked and pointed a finger back outside. "As soon as he saw Maka was okay, he went to go flirt with some of the nurses nearby."

"Typical. Wait, Maka's okay?" Soul stated, as he turned his attention back towards the bed.

To his surprise, Maka was staring right back at him, a small smile on her face. "Yeah, Maka's okay." She whispered.

Soul grinned and squeezed her hand in delight. "How long have you been up?"

Maka yawned and shook her head. "Only for a few minutes, I woke up shortly before you did."

Soul let out a sigh of relief. "I'm glad you're okay."

Maka sighed and tried to sit up. "I feel more like crap though. Professor Stein, what exactly happened to me?"

Stein looked over Maka's chart before glancing back up at her. "The poison you had inhaled in from that smoke bomb made you even sicker than before. You developed a high fever and were barely breathing when I came in."

Maka frowned and looked down. "That sounds scary. I'm glad I don't really remember any of that."

Stein nodded his head. "You've been under a lot of anesthesia and pain meds. That attack you got to your shoulder blade I had to stitch up in surgery."

"That probably means it's going to leave a scar then huh?" Maka asked, as she brushed her hand against the bandaged area.

"Yes probably so, but look on the bright side. Now you'll be able to match with Soul!" Stein said with a grin, as he noticed his statement caused both Soul and Maka to blush.

"We'll keep you here for another day or so, just to make sure you recover properly, then you can head home okay?" Stein stated.

Soul and Maka nodded their heads in agreement as Stein pulled the curtain back and left to update Maka's current progress in the computer.

Soul turned his attention back to Maka and stood up. "Well we're alone again." Soul stated, as he waggled his eyebrows.

Maka flushed and rolled her eyes. "It's not like we can do anything with how I am right now."

Soul shook his head. "We can still seal the deal again."

Maka's cheeks reddened even more as she looked away. "But we already sealed the deal!"

"That was in your mind, so that doesn't count. We need to seal the deal in the real world, unless of course you really don't want to do a duet…" Soul finished with a smirk.

Maka huffed and turned back towards him. "Of course I still want to do the duet!"

Soul grinned toothily and pulled her face closer to his. "Then what are we waiting for?" He whispered, as he pulled her in for a rough kiss.

"Oh my darling Maka, Stein told Papa that you might want some juice now that you're awake and I just wanted to know-"Spirit suddenly stopped midsentence when he saw Maka in the midst of a make out session with Soul.

Spirit let out a shriek of terror. "What on earth are you two doing?! Brat, get away from my daughter immediately!" Spirit cried out.

Soul sighed and broke away from Maka. "Should we piss him off even more by just pretending we didn't hear him?" Soul quietly asked Maka.

Maka smiled and nodded her head. "Anything to make the rest of my stay in this hospital less boring is fine by me!"

Author's Note: That's it for Chapter 25, let me know what you think with a review! And as always thanks for reading!


	26. Farewell to Masquerade?

Final Chapter, Chapter 26: Farewell to Masquerade…?

"Are you sure you don't need anything else Maka?" Soul asked, as he set down Maka's change of clothes and some of her favorite books.

Maka nodded her head and gave Soul a small smile. "You've already brought me pretty much everything I wanted from the apartment. You should go home now and get some rest."

Soul sighed and stretched out his arms. "I'm not that tired. I did get some sleep just hanging out with you here in the hospital."

Maka sighed and let out a huff. "You would get better sleep if you actually slept in a bed and not just in a chair."

Soul frowned and shrugged his shoulders. "I guess if you really don't need anything else, I'll head home now."

Soul stood up and gave Maka a quick peck on the lips and ruffled her hair affectionately.

Just as Soul was about to leave, Maka suddenly remembered something she needed to say.

"Oh wait Soul. Don't forget Professor Stein said I could be discharged tomorrow at 3 pm, so make sure to come by after school ends."

Soul grinned with his usual crooked smile and nodded his head. "I didn't forget. Don't worry I'll bring you your backpack and stuff so you can pack up everything."

Maka smiled back and waved goodbye as Soul pushed the curtain back and left down the hallway.

For the next hour or so, Maka kept herself busy by catching up on homework that she had missed and reading the rest of the books she had recently checked out from the library.

After catching up on her assignments, Maka began to lazily flip through the channels offered on hospital's limited set of channels until she heard the curtain pull open again.

"You look much better now Maka. I see that the nurses even stopped and removed the IV lines you had in you." Stein noted, taking a seat next to her.

Maka nodded her head and set down the remote. "I still feel a little nauseated at times, but you said that would go away in a few days right?"

Stein nodded his head and took out Maka's chart. "It's just one of those side effects from having to change the antibiotics and antivenin that you were taking. From the last check of your vital signs, it seems like your temperature and blood pressure is stabilizing even more, which is good news."

Maka sighed and leaned back against the pillows on her bed. "Do I really have to continue to take those medications for the rest of my life?"

Stein frowned and gave a slight nod of his head. "Yes, unfortunately none of the options I tried really helped to remove the remaining poison circulating in your blood."

Maka pouted and looked down at her bed sheets as she mulled over what Stein had told her.

'This wouldn't have happened if I hadn't lied about Emerald for so long and if I had just been more careful around Travis. Even though I have to live with this poison for the rest of my life, I won't let it stop me from still carrying out missions…'

Stein suddenly spoke up again, breaking Maka out of her thoughts.

"We did the investigation of Travis's apartment like you wanted us to. It turns out he had collected and hidden at least 50 human souls within those walls."

Maka growled under her breathe and balled her hands into fists. "It's crazy how he was able to go on doing that for so many months possibly years. I would hate to imagine what would have happened if he had actually decided to eat those souls…"

A sudden thought popped into Maka's head and she quickly turned her attention back to Stein.

"By the way Professor Stein, whatever happened to Rachel? I know she got sent to the intensive care unit, is she still in there?"

Stein thought it over for a minute, before shaking his head.

"I heard from some doctors that she is doing better than she was when she first came in, so she got moved to the Trauma Center. I think she could get greater care from the faculty there who specializes in the types of cases she's experienced."

Maka sat up at this news and moved to grab her change of clothes.

Stein watched her in confusion and arched an eyebrow. "What's with the sudden urge to get up?"

Maka carefully got off the bed and steadied herself. "I want to go see her to make sure she's okay."

Stein frowned and shook his head. "You're still too weak to just go wandering around the hospital."

Maka huffed and let out a sigh. "I'll be fine. Besides, I don't want to spend all the rest of my time here just sitting in my bed. "

Stein groaned and rubbed the bridge between his nose. "I really shouldn't let you walk around right now, but I can tell you aren't going to take no for an answer. I guess you can go visit her for an hour. It's about 5 pm right now, so come back no later than 6:05."

Maka smiled and nodded her head in agreement. "Trust me, I won't be long. I just wouldn't feel right if I didn't at least see how she was doing."

Stein sighed and nodded his head as he got up to give Maka privacy to change. "Just don't let any of the other doctors or nurses know I gave you permission to go out."

Maka quickly changed out of the hospital gown she had been put in and put on a plain pink shirt with blue long jeans that Soul had brought her.

Maka stretched and carefully put on the fuzzy white slippers that the hospital provided each of their guests with.

'Now I just need to find a hospital directory so I can find which way it is to the Trauma Center.'

~X~

Maka wandered around the hospital's floors for about ten minutes until she finally found an information booth.

"Great, I was walking in the wrong direction this whole time." Maka grumbled under breathe, as she turned around from heading south to start heading north.

Eventually, Maka finally made it to the Trauma center and walked up to nurse's station.

"Hi, I'm looking for a patient named Rachel Anderson." Maka stated, as she took a sweeping glance around.

The nurse at the front desk looked down at the chart and then glanced back up at Maka with a smile.

"She certainly seems to be a popular patient today. She's in room 204, I think some of her friends are already in there visiting." The nurse replied back.

Maka frowned and quietly thanked the nurse as she turned back around.

'I guess I shouldn't be surprised that Rachel's friends would eventually find out about what happened to her. Hopefully they don't start trying to pressure me for questions though…'

Maka sighed and came up to room 204 and knocked twice on the door. After waiting a few minutes, a voice called back that it was okay for her to come in.

Maka carefully opened the door and peeked inside. Rachel was sitting up sluggishly in bed with her usual group of friends surrounding her.

Kate gasped as she realized it was Maka. "Oh my gosh, It's Maka you guys!"

Megan, Ashley, and Nancy quickly looked up and gasped along with Kate.

Ashley ran up to Maka and gave her a hug. "Thank you so much for saving Rachel! Who knows what could have happened to her if that asshole Travis had kept her imprisoned any longer!"

"Oh, it was no problem really." Maka replied back, as she awkwardly returned the hug.

Megan came up to her next and patted her on the shoulders. "If there's anything we can do to repay you, please let us know!"

Maka stepped back, feeling uncomfortable by their sudden touchy feely attitude.

"If you really want to repay me, then you already know what I want." Maka stated calmly.

Each of the girls looked confused for a second before realization seemed to hit Kate.

"Wait a minute; don't tell us you want us too…" Kate stated, leaving her sentence unfinished.

Maka only nodded her head. "I want you to leave Soul and I alone. No more of your silly locker messages telling me to break off my partnership with Soul and no more harassing Soul when I'm not with him."

Nancy scoffed and looked away. "Look, we may be thankful that you saved Rachel and all, but that doesn't mean we want to give up on Soul!"

All of the girls voiced their agreement with Nancy and Maka felt the urge to simply just Maka-chop all of them until Rachel spoke up.

"Girls, just let it go. We've bothered Maka and Soul enough already." Rachel stated tiredly.

All of the girls turned their attention back towards Rachel in shock.

"You can't seriously mean that, right Rachel?" Ashley asked quietly.

Rachel only nodded her head. "I am serious. Maka and Soul have a bond that we can't break. All we've been doing over these past few months is just showing how pettily jealous we are of that bond."

Megan scoffed and turned away from Rachel. "I can't believe you would just give up on being with Soul just like that! You obviously must have been hit harder in the head by Travis than we thought!"

Rachel's eyes widened at Megan's insult and she looked down gloomily.

Maka growled and spoke up. "Hey, why are you talking that way to your own friend?! Don't you know how much pain Rachel's been in physically and emotionally over these past few days?!"

Megan looked a little shocked by Maka's outburst and turned away from her glaring green eyes.

"Come on girls, let's get out of here. I know when we're not wanted." Kate spoke up shakily, as she pushed Megan outside the doors. Ashley and Nancy quickly followed after her and closed the door behind them.

Maka scoffed as she gazed at the closed door for a few seconds, before turning her attention back to Rachel. "You're friends are complete snobs, you know that right?"

Rachel sighed and wiped a few tears from her cheeks. "They've been slowly acting worse and worse over the past few days they've been visiting me. I guess I kind of deserve their harsh treatment after going behind their backs trying to get Soul for myself."

Maka shook her head and took a seat next to Rachel. "Even if they are mad about that, you still didn't deserve those mean words that Megan just said."

Rachel nervously fiddled with her bedspread. "Truth be told, I've been having trouble speaking to all of them ever since the incident happened. I think they're going off the rumors that have been going around school that Travis raped me or something when all he did was tie me up and rough me up a bit."

Maka watched Rachel's shy behavior and let out a small sigh. A few weeks ago, Rachel was acting just as rude and self –centered as her friends. But her episode with Travis had seemed to cause a complete 360 in her personality.

'Rachel's behavior since her traumatic experience reminds a bit of how things were when I first met Crona.'

Maka frowned as she thought about Crona's sacrifice during the battle with the Kishin for a moment before shaking the thought away.

"Have any other people come to visit you besides your friends?" Maka asked.

Rachel sat up a bit and nodded her head. "Only one other person came to see me."

Maka looked at Rachel curiously to know who it was and Rachel started to blush and shift uncomfortably in her bed.

"It was Hiro." Rachel grumbled out finally.

Maka eyes widened in surprise and she couldn't help but smirk a bit.

"Oh, so that's why you no longer care about Soul huh? I didn't know you started a secret relationship with him!" Maka stated, with a chuckle.

Rachel blushed even deeper and shook her head rapidly. "I would never start a relationship with that loser! I can't help it if he came by to visit me every day, even when I told him to stop coming by after the first time!"

Maka only continued to give her a knowing grin before sighing and looking outside the window. The sun was already starting to set and leave the sky a colorful mix of orange and red.

"Where do you plan to go from here, Maka?" Rachel suddenly asked.

Maka looked confused by what Rachel meant, so Rachel continued on.

"I mean, I heard you were injured also by Travis. After you recover and stuff, what do you plan to do?"

Maka leaned back in the chair and pondered it over for a few minutes. "Well in terms of school, I won't let any of my injuries slow me down. I still plan take on cases that I can handle solo and continue to hang out with my friends in my off time."

Rachel looked surprised at Maka's answer before smiling slightly.

"It's no wonder Tsugumi and her friends look up to you. It seems like nothing or nobody ever slows you down."

Maka nodded her head and smiled back. "Don't let what Travis did to you slow you down either. I'm sure you'll find yourself a good partner in the NOT class in time."

Rachel sighed and twirled a finger in her hair. "How did you end up with Soul as your partner if I may ask?"

"I found him playing on the piano away from everyone else. I remember it was a grim and creepy melody that I found interesting. When he finished playing, he told me he was still looking for a meister just like I was still looking for a weapon and the rest is history." Maka replied back.

Rachel smirked as Maka finished her story. "And eventually in time you went from not only friends, but to lovers also, right?"

Maka blushed and glanced away, when she suddenly took notice of the time.

"Oh gosh, it's already almost 7 pm! I promised Professor Stein I would only be out for an hour!" Maka cried out, as she got up out of her chair.

Maka pushed the chairs back to their original positions and turned back towards Rachel.

"Don't forget what I told you and I hope you feel better soon!" Maka stated with a grin.

Rachel sighed and managed to give Maka a weak smile back. As Maka closed the door behind her, Rachel sunk back into the bed.

"I wonder if I really can find a partner knowing the reputation I built up…" Rachel whispered quietly to herself, as she glanced around the now empty room.

~X~

"I told you to be only out for an hour, not two hours!" Stein said in a scolding manner, as Maka crept back into her bed.

Maka frowned and bowed her head in apology. "Sorry, I lost track of time dealing with Rachel and her friends."

Stein sighed and just gave her a good look over. "Well at least it doesn't look like you over exerted yourself doing anything. Just take it easy for the rest of the night now."

Maka nodded her head in agreement and walked into the bathroom to change into her pajamas.

The rest of the evening and night went by slowly as Maka kept herself entertained with her books, watching TV, and doing puzzles.

The following afternoon, Maka waited in anticipation for Soul to come pick her up and practically leapt into his arms when she saw him come in.

"Someone's excited." Soul noted with a grin, as he returned Maka's hug and took a seat by Maka's bed.

Maka nodded her gleefully. "It's because I finally get to leave the hospital!"

Soul laughed and watched as Maka hurriedly packed up her books and clothes and zipped everything up.

"Make sure you're not forgetting anything in your rush." Soul stated.

Maka looked around the bed and in the cabinets to make sure she hadn't missed anything.

"I think I have everything." Maka stated, as she turned back around to face Soul.

Soul nodded his head and stood up to go get Professor Stein. A few minutes later, Stein came back in and handed Maka her discharge instructions.

"Alright Maka, I can tell you want to get out of here as soon as possible so I'll be quick with the instructions. Make sure to continue to take 2 tablets, once in the morning and once before you go to bed. Don't do any extreme physical exertion for the rest of the week and make sure to keep up your intake of fluids." Stein stated, as he read over the papers.

Maka briefly glanced over the papers and nodded her head in agreement. "Thanks for all you've done for me Professor Stein."

Stein smiled and turned towards Soul. "Keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn't do anything too crazy please."

Soul grinned and nodded his head while Maka huffed next to him. "I don't need to be watched over! You don't think I handle following some simple instructions?!"

Soul sighed and grabbed Maka's head to lead her out of the hospital before she ended up causing a commotion.

Once Soul and Maka were finally back on the street, Maka let out a sigh of relief.

"It's nice to finally be outside again. We should do something to celebrate!" Maka suggested, glancing up at Soul.

Soul shook his head and pointed in the direction of their apartment. "I think I would rather go home and take a nap."

Maka frowned and began to look ready to start an argument over this matter.

"Stop being so lazy! We should at least do something now that I'm out of the hospital!" Maka stated angrily.

Soul grinned lazily and started to drag Maka towards the apartment. "We can take a nap together in my room to celebrate!"

Maka huffed and looked annoyed the whole way to the apartment until they finally stopped at their door.

Maka glanced at Soul in confusion. "Why aren't you opening the door?"

"My hands are full carrying your stuff. The key is in my right pocket." Soul replied back.

Maka rolled her eyes and dug her hands into his pocket while silently grumbling internally to herself that carrying one bag did not mean Soul's hands were full.

Eventually, Maka pulled out the small golden key to their apartment and opened up the door.

Maka allowed Soul to walk in and then closed the door behind her. Maka peered around and noticed the apartment seemed darker than usual for this time of day.

"Hey Soul, it seems kind of dark in here. Turn on one of the lights." Maka stated.

Soul nodded his head and flicked on the switch.

"SURPRISE!" A sudden group of voices shouted out that nearly made Maka jump back in fright.

Maka composed herself and quickly realized it was her friends greeting her.

"Whoa, what's going on?" Maka asked, watching as everyone came out of their hiding places.

"Soul wanted to throw a welcome home party for you! Hurry up and put your stuff down so we can get it started!" Black Star yelled out.

~X~

"Wow guys, this was pretty unexpected! Thanks for coming to see me!" Maka stated, once everyone was situated on the couch.

"Hey, it was Soul's idea. You should thank him for buying the pizza and setting the whole thing up!" Black Star said, before letting out a belch.

Maka gazed at him in disgust for a second before Liz got her attention.

"I overheard from Spirit at school that apparently his precious baby Maka is growing up too fast! Want to give details on that?" Liz asked with a smirk.

Maka blushed and shrugged her shoulders. "You know my papa likes to blow everything out of proportion. He saw Soul and I kissing and he basically thought the world was ending."

Liz and Tsubaki squealed in excitement as Patty laughed.

Black Star yawned as the girls continued to discuss different topics that bored him and turned his attention to Kid sitting next him.

"Where did Soul go? I'm getting tired of hearing about the latest fashion or guy over here." Black Star stated with a groan.

Kid shrugged. "I think he went to the kitchen to get some drinks. I'll go check on him."

Kid got up and walked over to the kitchen and found Soul chugging down some soda. Soul crushed the can and finally noticed Kid giving him a smug smile.

Soul arched an eyebrow at him. "What's with the look?"

Kid shook head and continued to smile. "It's just odd of you to want to throw a party, especially since you usually don't even like to go to parties in the first place."

Soul shrugged, but gave Kid a small smile. "I figured it would be nice to have a small get together. Maka's been through a lot lately so it's the least I could do."

Kid nodded his head in agreement and as the two of them turned back to stare at their group of friends.

Maka noticed them just standing in the kitchen and stood up and walked over to them.

"Hey, why are you guys just standing around here in the kitchen?" Maka asked with a smile.

Soul grinned and threw his crushed can into the trash. "Kid and I were just discussing what you and I were going to do to make this party even more exciting!"

Maka gave Kid a confused look, but he appeared to be just as lost as she was.

Maka looked back towards Soul with a puzzled expression. "What are you talking about?"

Soul pulled Maka aside and gave her a wicked grin. "We're going to do the duet!"

Maka's eyes widened in shock and she shook her head immediately. "What, right now?! We haven't even practiced anything together. Plus, I've never even done a duet with the piano."

Soul simply shrugged. "We've had to come up with stuff spontaneously in the past. You can start things off and I'll come in when I find a way to match up with your beat."

Maka frowned, still unsure. "You don't even have a piano to play with though."

Soul held up his leg. "Did you forget that I can make my blade into a keyboard?"

Maka sighed, but eventually nodded her head. "I don't think we're going to sound very good."

Soul laughed and shook his head. "Don't be so pessimistic."

Maka and Soul turned back around and faced Kid.

"I'm going to go get something from my room. I'll be back in a second." Maka stated, as she walked off.

Kid watched Maka go with a bewildered look. "What was that all about?"

Soul only grinned and moved outside of the kitchen to go sit on the sofa. "You'll see."

Kid shrugged and followed Soul out to meet back with everyone else in the living room.

Liz noticed Maka was no longer around and looked around for her. "Where did Maka go? Did you make her run off Soul?

Soul shook his head. "She went to go get something from her room. She'll be right back."

"She better bring in something that livens up this party before I do something!" Black Star yelled out, as he sat up on the couch.

Tsubaki sighed and pulled Black Star back down before he could start causing any chaos.

A few minutes later, Maka came out of her room carrying a case in her hands. Maka sighed and plopped down in the sofa next to Soul who gave her an encouraging smile.

"What's in the case Maka?" Patty asked curiously.

"It's my saxophone." Maka mumbled back quietly.

Liz looked surprised at this. "I didn't know you played an instrument! Maka you've been holding out on us!"

Maka sighed and shook her head. "I haven't been playing it for that long."

"Since you brought it out today, were you planning to play for us today?" Tsubaki asked kindly.

Maka blushed slightly and nodded her head. "Soul's going to play with me though."

Kid smiled and nodded in understanding. "So that's what you two were talking about earlier."

Black Star grinned and sat up a bit from his place on the couch. "About time you played without that mask on."

"What are you talking about?" Kid asked Black Star.

"I'll explain after we finish playing." Maka stated, as she set the case down and opened it up to reveal her saxophone.

Maka smiled at her black and gold saxophone before sending a brief glance towards Soul who nodded in agreement.

Maka sighed and quickly thought of a jazz melody she could play that she had practiced a few weeks ago. Maka eventually thought of something that she could play and began playing at a low tempo. Soul watched her play for a few minutes before matching up with her beat. As the song went on, Maka and Soul increased the rate of the tempo they were at until they reached the crescendo of the song and quietly slowed things down.

When Soul and Maka were done, all of their friends clapped for them cheerfully.

"That was pretty good! A little shaky in some parts, but overall it was nice. Did you guys practice that together?" Liz asked.

Maka shook her head. "Soul only just recently found out I've been playing the sax."

"Really? I had assumed Soul had been giving you some music lessons." Kid mused aloud.

Maka only continued to shake her head. "I know it might sound hard to believe, but it was actually Hiro who taught me most of the basic lessons about the sax."

Liz nearly spat out the soda she had been drinking which caused Patty and Black Star to laugh next to her.

"Are you being honest with us Maka?" Tsubaki asked, trying to hide her surprised expression.

Maka nodded her head. "A few months ago, Hiro and I made a deal with each other to help each other out with our weaknesses. He gave me music lessons and I gave him advice on how to get stronger."

"Why did you go to Hiro when you had Soul though?" Liz continued to question.

Maka sighed and gazed down at her saxophone. "Well I didn't like how Soul always teased me about music. I didn't want him to make fun of me even more if he knew Hiro was helping me."

It was quiet for a few minutes as everyone took in what Maka had said.

"Did anyone else know you were working with Hiro?" Kid finally asked.

Maka nodded her head and pointed at Black Star. "Black Star found out by basically following me around and Travis found out also."

"Well that explains mostly everything, but I still have one last question. What did Black Star mean earlier by your mask?" Liz asked.

Maka sat up and pulled out her emerald mask from within her case. "I play at the White Lily Pub and Café as Emerald and Hiro plays with me as Diamond.

This seemed to surprise everyone once again except for Black Star. A sudden thought came into Maka's head and she turned her head towards Soul.

"I just thought about it Soul, but maybe I should take a break from performing at the Café and playing my sax."

Soul frowned and shook his head. "You don't have to do that. I know you like playing there and it's good practice for you anyways."

Maka sighed and leaned her head back into the sofa. "Maybe so, but playing at the Café is starting to distract me from my studies and tire me out."

Soul turned his leg back to normal and placed his hands behind his head. "At least discuss it with Hiro before you make any impulsive decisions.

~X~

"Let me get this straight. You want our performance at the Pub today to be our last performance as Masquerade?" Hiro asked.

Maka nodded her head. "Or at least I think that we should move it from performing on Wednesdays to the weekend when we're both less busy."

Hiro eyes narrowed as he let out a scoff. "This wouldn't be because I told Soul basically everything would it?"

Maka immediately shook her head. "I invited Soul to watch us in the audience. Anyways, I have been thinking about this for a while that I don't want to hide behind this mask anymore. I think we should announce who we are once we finish performing."

Hiro looked even more shocked and looked at Maka as if she had lost her mind. "Why would you want to do that?! Part of the reason people like us so much is because they like the mystery that surrounds who we could possibly be behind the masks!"

Maka sighed, beginning to get annoyed. "Look, I know I'm kind of asking for all this out of the blue, but think about all the things that have happened since we first started this group. All it's caused me to do is lie to my friends and feel like I have to hide myself. I know you've gained more confidence in yourself since we first started playing too. Sure we're probably going to lose sales once people find out who really are, but I was never in this for the money anyways."

Hiro frowned before eventually letting out a sigh. "It was fun while it lasted huh?"

Maka smiled and held out her hand. "It really was. Let's give them a nice show Diamond."

Hiro grinned and shook her hand back. "I agree Emerald; let's make our farewell performance go out with a bang!"

Maka and Hiro walked onto the stage just as Jessica was finishing up the announcements.

"It's been a while since we've last heard from you Masquerade! I know the audience is happy to see you again! Emerald informed me that Masquerade has a surprise announcement to give once their performance is over." Jessica stated, as the crowd roared with excitement.

Soul frowned from his place in the audience as he gazed at some of Emerald's so called fanboys.

'Wow, I never realized how popular this group truly is. I just thought it was only a small group of people who liked to come here, but the whole area is full.'

This time to change things up, Maka started things off by playing her saxophone for the first few minutes alone with Hiro coming in about midway through the song. The songs they played seemed to be a combination of the classical and romantic melodies they had played throughout the past weeks.

As their final song came to an end, Maka grabbed the microphone Jessica left on the stand for them and waited for the applause to die down.

"Thank you everyone for stopping by to hear Diamond and I play today!" Maka stated, as cheers started to erupt again.

"We love you Emerald!" A few guys yelled out from by the bar, while a few females next to them cried out the same thing for Diamond.

"Thank you. Thank you. We know a lot of you have been wondering for the longest time who we are behind these masks, and we figured we put that secret to an end today." Hiro stated, speaking up.

A resounding amount of gasps filled the audience as people started to whisper to each other.

"Oh my gosh; are we actually going to find out who Diamond and Emerald are?!" One girl whispered in excitement, that Soul managed to hear.

"Man, I hope Emerald is just as hot as she sounds!" Another guy stated that caused Soul to glare at him.

Maka sighed and turned her attention to Hiro. "Are you ready to reveal our identities Diamond?"

Hiro nodded his head in agreement. "We'll take them off on the count of three. 1…2…3…"

Maka and Hiro took off their masks and gazed around at the shocked expressions of each patron.

"Behind this mask, I am Maka and I attend the DWMA." Maka stated, proudly.

"And behind my mask, I am Hiro and I also attend the DWMA." Hiro said.

It was quiet for a few seconds around the whole pub until Jessica started clapping which eventually lead into the whole audience applauding them.

"We still love you!" Cheers sounded out as Maka and Hiro let out a sigh of relief.

Maka and Hiro walked off stage and first greeted Jessica. "It's nice to finally know who you guys truly are! Whatever happened to Platinum by the way?"

Maka shook her head to signal that it was a long story. Just as Maka started to turn around, she was suddenly surrounded by some of her fans.

"Maka I can't believe you're really Emerald! Can I get a picture with you?" One girl asked.

"Hey Maka, are you going out with anyone? I can teach you a few lessons that go beyond playing music." A guy asked, with a suggestive wink and smirk.

Maka frowned and stepped back in disgust, when suddenly she felt an arm go around her.

Maka looked up and smiled as she realized it was Soul. "Some of your fans are crazy." Soul stated with a sneer.

Maka smirked as Soul's grip seemed to tighten around her. "Are you sure that isn't just your jealously talking?"

The guy who had been coming on to Maka frowned as he watched the scene between Soul and Maka play out.

"Uh, so I take that you're dating this guy then huh?" He asked quietly.

Soul scoffed and turned his attention back towards the guy. "I'm not just any guy. I'm the last death scythe: Soul Eater Evans and you don't have any chance with Maka because she's with me."

The guy quickly ran off and Maka blushed in embarrassment. "Your little cool speech there isn't going to win me over."

Soul grinned and moved Maka away from her crowds of fans into a quieter area of the pub. "Are you sure about that? Your cheeks are looking a little red there."

Maka huffed as she felt her cheeks redden even more when Soul lifted her chin up.

"You know, I'll always prefer Maka to Emerald any day of the week." Soul whispered, as he moved in for a kiss.

Maka smiled and wrapped her arms around Soul's neck. "Good, because I don't want to pretend to be anyone else from now on." Maka finished with a grin as she met Soul halfway in the kiss.

Author's Note: Well friends, this is the final chapter of Masquerade. The next chapter posted will be the epilogue which will wrap up things. Thanks again to everyone who reviewed, followed, and put this story in their favorites. Let me know what you think with a review and as usual Thanks for reading!


	27. Epilogue: Looking Beyond Today And Into Tomorrow

Epilogue, Chapter 27: Looking Beyond Today and into Tomorrow

"Hey Maka, hurry up! We'll be late for school!" Soul yelled out from behind Maka's door.

Maka glanced at her wall clock and realized Soul was right. Maka quickly placed her Emerald mask back down on her desk and met Soul at the front door.

"What were you doing that took you so long? Usually it's me who's running late." Soul asked, as they started their usual walk to school.

Maka sighed and gave Soul a small smile. "I was just reminiscing a bit about Masquerade and I lost track of time."

Soul grinned and shook his head. "You haven't played with Hiro in like over 2 months now!"

Maka frowned and let out a huff. "That's because we've pretty much moved on with our lives. I'm busy with those investigation cases that Stein gives me and he is actually getting partner requests now."

Soul crossed his arms behind his head as he looked upwards towards the sky. "I still find that hard to believe. I know that he's gotten stronger, but he can still be so annoying."

Maka shook her head in disagreement. "I think Hiro is finally starting to realize that acting like he knows everything won't get him very far in life."

Soul shrugged and pulled Maka in by the waist as they finally entered into the school's hallways.

"What are you doing?" Maka whispered to Soul, as she felt her cheeks redden from the all the attention they were suddenly getting.

Soul smirked and pulled her in even closer. "Oh just pissing off your fanboys and letting my fangirls know they have no chance with me." Soul replied back easily, as he noticed Rachel's old group of friends frown and turn away in disgust at them.

Maka sighed and broke away from Soul's grip as she reached her class.

"Thanks for walking me to class, even though it was completely unnecessary." Maka said with a smile.

Soul grinned back, but then suddenly pulled Maka back in to whisper something in her ear.

"Hey, after school today meet me outside of Deathbucks. There's a place I want to take you to." Soul stated quietly.

"Okay around what time should I go there?" Maka asked.

"Around 5 pm, you know that's when I get out of training with Kid." Soul replied back.

Maka nodded her head in agreement and waved goodbye as Soul left for his weapons class.

Maka took her seat and had just taken out her textbook and notebook when suddenly Ox Ford came up to her.

Maka arched an eyebrow at him in confusion. "Um, do you need something?"

Instead of giving Maka his usual smug "I'm better than you" smile, Ox Ford was glancing around nervously before letting out a sigh.

"I was just wondering if you could help me." Ox Ford mumbled so quietly that Maka had to strain herself to hear him.

"What exactly do you need my help with?" Maka questioned.

Ox Ford pointed towards Hiro who was casually flipping through the pages of his notes.

Maka glanced at Hiro for a second before turning back towards Ox Ford. "What does Hiro have to do with me?"

Ox Ford frowned and let out a sigh. "Come on Maka, it should be obvious! Ever since you two revealed you were actually Emerald and Diamond of Masquerade, you've both seen a huge increase in popularity."

Maka shrugged her shoulders and sighed. "Yeah, I actually don't understand why. Emerald was just a persona I created, yet people seem to want me to continue to act like I am her."

Ox Ford adjusted his glasses and smirked. "Well you should be happy that you got famous as Masquerade; I wish I could get that popular! The main reason I came up to you though is that I want you to do to same thing to me that you did to Hiro!"

Maka rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Listen, I'm pretty sure in a few more weeks Hiro and I won't be as popular and everything will go back to normal. Plus, I didn't do anything to help Hiro besides give him some advice."

"Well you're advice certainly made a big difference! I hate how someone like him can get attraction from so many girls including my beloved Kim!" Ox Ford snapped back.

Maka narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. "That sounds like a personal problem to me."

Ox Ford pouted and looked saddened. "Okay I can see that I'm bothering you; I'll leave you alone now."

Maka sighed and shook her head. "If you want to know what advice I gave Hiro, it was just to start working out in the morning and start drinking some protein shakes and smoothies. I also told him to stop being such a narcissist."

Ox Ford looked surprised. "That's it?"

Maka nodded her head. "Well it took a few months for him to get those muscles and stuff. It's not like the changes will happen overnight."

Maka suddenly smiled and thought of something else she could say.

"You really shouldn't worry about the attention Hiro is getting. I know Kim probably doesn't say it enough, but she likes you as you are."

Ox Ford sighed, but nodded his head in agreement. "I know. I guess I just sometimes wish she would say it more often. Like how Soul is with you."

Maka blushed and twiddled her thumbs. "Don't compare our relationships!"

Ox Ford grinned and let out a chuckle. "What's wrong Maka? Soul doesn't tell you he loves you often enough?"

Maka pouted and turned her head away from him. "Soul doesn't have to verbally tell me he loves me, actions speak louder than words!"

Ox Ford laughed and went to take his seat. "Sure, if you say so Maka."

Maka huffed and pushed Ox Ford's teasing out her thoughts. 'Ox Ford doesn't even know half the crap our relationship has been through in these past 6 months.'

~X~

Maka actually felt a little bit relieved when her meister class was finally over.

As Maka was walking down the hall, she suddenly remembered she needed to drop off the files from her last case in Stein's office.

Maka knocked on Stein's door and waited a few minutes until she heard a come in.

Maka's eyes widened as she gazed at the half dissected rabbit and squirrel on Stein's desk.

Stein looked up from his specimens and greeted Maka with a smile. "Oh hello Maka, what brings you by my office today?"

Maka frowned and resisted the urge to cover her mouth to block off the foul odors the creatures were giving off. "Um, I just wanted to give you my report from the last case I took on involving that drug bust."

Stein put down his scalpel and took off his gloves. "You finished that one already? Maka, you go through these cases faster than I receive them."

Maka smiled slightly and shrugged her shoulders. "Well it's fun taking them on. Doing some of the undercover missions really allowed me to see how dark Death City's nightlife can be."

Stein nodded his head and fixed Maka with a serious look. "Don't overwork yourself now. You never know if you might end up with another Travis case on your hands."

Maka sighed, but nodded her head in agreement. "Yes I know. I still take the medications daily and I know what my limits are."

Stein smiled and accepted Maka's report and put it away in his desk drawer. "So besides taking on cases, do you have any other plans for your future?"

Maka thought it over for a minute before nodding her head. "I would like to maybe study abroad one semester."

Stein sat back down and twirled his scalpel in his hands. "I wonder what Soul would think of that."

Maka blushed slightly and looked down. "I haven't really discussed with him if our plans for the future would involve us going on separate paths."

Stein shrugged and leaned back in his chair. "It may or it may not, but you should do what makes you happy."

Maka nodded her head in agreement and turned around to leave Stein's office. "Well I still have plenty of other stuff to do today. Have a good day Professor Stein."

"Yeah you to. Hey, if you ever come across any road kill in your travels, you know where to find me!" Stein stated, as Maka closed his office door.

Maka shuddered in disgust and took out her cellphone. "Ugh, just talking to Professor Stein can make me lose my appetite. Unfortunately, I still need to make sure another errand of mine gets done.

~X~

"Oh Maka, I still can't believe you actually wanted to go out for lunch! And you're not even disguising yourself like last time!" Spirit cried out in elation.

Maka rolled her eyes and slid further in her seat as some people on the street glanced at Spirit in confusion and amusement.

"Yeah, I wouldn't get so excited. The only reason I called you out here was because I needed to pay you back the 500 dollars I borrowed from you to pay for my saxophone."

As Maka took out an envelope with the money in it to hand over to Spirit, Spirit pushed it back and shook his head.

"Maka you should hold on to that money. Put that money in the bank to help save money for school or when you might really need it."

Maka pouted and shook her head. "I promised you I would pay you back though."

Spirit smiled and straightened up in his chair. "I'm glad you want to keep your promise, but I would be happier if you saved that money and put it to good use some other time."

Maka sighed and put the envelope back into her backpack. For a while, neither Maka nor Spirit said anything as Maka took in the cool afternoon breeze by the outdoor restaurant.

Spirit watched Maka with a small smile before coughing to catch her attention.

"So do you actually play that saxophone? I heard some students say in the hallways that you liked to play at some Café a few months ago."

Maka nodded her head. "I sometimes play it at home or do some small gigs in other places when I'm not too busy."

Spirit smiled and became a bit teary-eyed. "Papa is so proud of what you've been doing over the past few weeks! You've recovered so well since the time you were in the hospital!"

Maka shrugged and glanced down at her utensils before suddenly the waiter came back with their meals.

Maka had only ordered a simple chicken sandwich with a salad, but it seemed to be that Spirit had ordered two large meals.

Maka glanced at the two entrees in front of Spirit in shock and glanced back up at him.

"Why did you order so much? Are you really that hungry?" Maka asked in confusion.

Spirit laughed and scratched the hair behind his head in embarrassment. "Well actually yeah, I am pretty hungry. You see when you first called me; I had actually just finished breakfast. I got so excited that you actually wanted to meet up with me that I threw up my breakfast. Basically to make a long story short, I haven't eaten anything since about 7 this morning!"

Maka sighed and shook her head as she took a few bites of her sandwich.

"How is your relationship with the brat by the way?" Spirit suddenly asked.

Maka glared at Spirit for the nickname, but eventually smiled a bit. "It's fine. We've both been kind of busy, so we haven't had time to hang out as much. I think that he wants to take me out somewhere nice though after his training ends today though."

Spirit frowned and let out a scoff. "All I know is that he better not try to do anything too fast with you. I'm not ready to be a grandpa yet."

Maka rolled her eyes and fought back a blush at her father's implications. "You and I both know Soul would never do anything to hurt me on purpose! In fact, Kid told me Soul is actually focusing more on improving and turning in his work on time."

Spirit laughed slightly at that. "I guess you've been a good influence on him then."

Maka smiled in agreement. The rest of their lunch was eaten in comfortable silence and Maka silently realized to herself that maybe she could slowly start giving her father a chance again to redeem himself of his past behavior.

Spirit grinned as he sat up and pushed his chair in. "It was nice having this meal with you my darling Maka! Maybe we could do it again sometime…?"

Maka sighed and shrugged her shoulders a bit. "I guess it's possible…"

Spirit's eyes lit up in excitement and he practically jumped in joy. "That sounds like a good enough answer to me! Just wait till Stein and Marie hear about this!"

Maka sweatdropped at her Father's antics and watched as he started to practically skip down the street in glee. 'I bet in a few hours he's going to be back in ChupaCabra's again as usual. I guess I can't expect my Papa to ever change some parts of his personality, but I can get used to it.'

Maka glanced down at her watch and realized it was almost 3 pm now.

'I guess it was a good idea to have a late lunch after all. I guess I'll go kill another hour or so at the library.'

~X~

Maka decided to leave the library at 4:30 pm to make it on time to Deathbucks. Maka had been standing outside the store for about 10 minutes when a familiar voice called her.

"Hi Maka, why are you just standing outside? Aren't you going to come in?" Rachel asked, coming up to her.

Maka smiled and looked at Rachel up and down. "Wow Rachel is that you? And no I actually wasn't planning to go inside; I'm just meeting Soul out here."

Rachel smiled back and gave a twirl to show off her light blue summer dress. "I bet I look a whole lot different. I'm still getting therapy for all the stuff I've been through, but I've stopped hanging out with Kate and the others."

"Oh that's good! They weren't very good friends anyways. So, who do you hang out with now?" Maka asked.

Rachel beamed and pointed inside. "I'm actually starting to get to know Tsugumi and her friends better. They even invited me here today to have a study group session for the test Sid has planned for us next week."

"And how are things going with you and Hiro?" Maka asked with a smirk.

Rachel blushed and shook her head. "He's been so popular since people found out he was Diamond. I can't believe you were Emerald also by the way! Anyways, we've only gone out maybe once or twice since I got out of the hospital."

Maka smiled and nodded her head in understanding. "Have you found a partner yet?"

Rachel sighed and shook her head. "No, I haven't yet. I'm not going to give up though; I know it's going to take time for people to see past the attitude I used to give off."

"You're old friends could learn a lot from you." Maka mused.

Rachel nodded her head in agreement. "Well Tsugumi and the others are waiting on me. It was nice talking to you again Maka!" Rachel stated, as she headed inside.

"Looks like you've really made a difference in her life." Soul stated from behind her.

Maka grinned and turned towards him. "Yeah I guess I have. A part of me actually thought she would go back to hanging out with her old friends again and bring back her usual snobby attitude."

Soul smirked and held his hand out. "Well are you ready to go now?"

Maka nodded her head and grabbed Soul's hand as the two started down the street.

"So what have you been up to all day?" Soul asked after a few minutes had passed.

Maka rubbed her head in thought. "Well I went to class and got bothered by Ox Ford, Turned in my case files to Professor Stein, had lunch with my dad, and then read a few books in the library."

Soul laughed as Maka finished retelling her day. "I'm surprised you willingly went out with your Dad, but besides that it sounds like another typical day for you."

Maka nodded her head and turned towards Soul. "What about you? What did Kid have you doing today?"

Soul groaned and shook his head. "It's a long story. Not only was weapons class boring, but Kid had me memorizing all these drills for what to do when we are in the middle of a battle in the forest."

Maka smiled and squeezed Soul's hand a bit tighter. "I'm glad at least that you're putting in more effort than you were before in the past."

Soul smirked and looked down at her. "Tell that to Kid. He still thinks I'm not trying hard enough."

Soul and Maka walked for a few more minutes before Soul suddenly stopped in the middle of their walk. Maka frowned and turned to look at Soul in confusion.

"What's wrong Soul? Why did you suddenly stop?" Maka asked.

Soul grinned and sat down. "We've arrived at place I wanted to take you to."

Maka arched an eyebrow and looked around. Soul had led them to cliff that overlooked the city. The sun was already starting to set that allowed the two of them to begin to see the stars coming out and watch as the day turned to night.

"Wow Soul, when did you find out about this place?" Maka asked in awe.

Soul leaned back against a nearby tree and let out a yawn. "I found this spot one day while walking home. I usually only come up here to sometimes think."

Maka stared at him for a few seconds before smiling and sitting down next to him. Maka relaxed and leaned her head against Soul's shoulder as he pulled her into his lap.

A peaceful silence fell over them as the two of them watched the sunset. Maka took a quick glance up at Soul and noticed he had an unusually serious expression on his face.

"What's with the long face?" Maka asked.

Soul looked down and sighed as Maka moved out of his lap and faced him oppositely.

"You can tell me if something is bothering you Soul. We promised each other to try not to keep any more secrets between each other." Maka continued on softly.

Soul frowned and focused his ruby colored eyes on her. "You know I love you right?"

Maka blushed and was reminded a bit of what Ox Ford had told her earlier about Soul actually announcing his affection. "Yes, and you know I love you to, but I'm pretty sure you had something else to say right?"

Soul sighed and nodded his head. "I'm just a bit bothered by something Kid told me earlier."

Maka looked curious so Soul continued on. "He told me that he was going to need to reassign me to another location someday."

Maka's eyes widened in surprise as she looked down to hide her face. "Well I guess that is to be expected. Death scythes are located all over the world after all."

Soul didn't reply back and looked back towards the city quietly.

"How soon is someday?" Maka questioned, trying to keep her voice steady.

"He said that I wouldn't need to really worry about it until after we graduate from the DWMA." Soul replied back.

Maka immediately looked back up and let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, you had me worried for a second you were going to leave like tomorrow!"

Soul huffed and shrugged his shoulders. "Well it felt like tomorrow when he told me! I don't want to leave you and all the friends I've made here in Death City!"

Maka twiddled her fingers with a leaf that fell down from the tree. "I wouldn't mind traveling with you if you wanted me to."

Soul scratched his hair tiredly. "You don't have to do that."

Maka shook her head and gave Soul a grin. "I want to travel and study abroad someday you know. As long as we still got to kick ass together, I wouldn't mind a change of scenery."

Soul laughed and showed off his toothy grin. "Have you told anyone else about those thoughts?"

Maka shrugged, but then nodded her head. "If by anyone you mean my Papa then no I haven't. I did tell Stein and Tsubaki though."

"And what did they tell you back?" Soul asked curiously.

"They basically said to do what makes me happy." Maka replied back.

Soul grinned and pulled Maka back into an embrace. "Would you really be happy traveling with me and living in a new place?"

Maka nodded her head. "We've traveled to places outside of the country before."

Soul frowned and rolled his eyes. "Those were only temporary trips. This trip would be more permanent, like more than a year possibly."

Maka sighed and let out a huff. "It sounds to me like you're trying to persuade me to not come with you! I know what I would be getting to you. We've had our rough patches before, but an opportunity for us to really go out and explore a different country and experience new cultures is something many people dream they could do."

Soul matched Maka's serious expression before eventually slipping out a small smile.

"You know, it's not something we have to hurry and make a decision about. We don't graduate for a few more years after all." 'Now that I really think about it, it sounds like I kind of proposed to Maka and she accepted it.' Soul added as an afterthought, trying to hide his blush.

Maka smiled and nodded her head and leaned up to give Soul a light kiss.

"Just know you never have to go through anything alone." Maka stated, once she broke off the kiss.

Soul grinned and slightly tugged her in closer for a more passionate kiss. "I could say the same thing for you." Soul whispered against her lips.

Maka sighed and tilted her head to allow the kiss to go deeper and giggled when Soul broke away and pressed kisses against her cheeks and neck.

"Is your sax still in your room?" Soul asked quietly against her neck, after leaving a large enough hickey he knew Maka would have a hard time hiding.

"Hmm? Yeah it still is; why do you ask?" Maka asked, still slightly dazed from their make out session.

Soul grinned and leaned away from her neck. "Let's go home and have another duet together. It's been awhile since we've done any activity together."

Maka blinked her forest green eyes in confusion. "That seems kind of out of the blue. I haven't really played anything in so long since Masquerade pretty much ended."

Soul shrugged and helped Maka to her feet. "You wouldn't want to get rusty in your playing though after all those hours of practice you put in before."

Maka sighed, but started to grin as an idea popped into her head. "Okay then. Let's compose a song to new beginnings then!"

Soul snorted at how cheesy that sounded, but nodded his head in agreement as he watched Maka cheerfully walk ahead of him.

'I guess I have nothing to really worry about. Maka and I are finally not going to let any more problems get between us. I'm pretty sure Kid won't mind Maka coming with me either when the time comes for me to be reassigned. For once in my life, I actually think I have my future planned out pretty well…' Soul thought with a grin, as he strolled to catch up with Maka.

~END~

Author's Note: Aww, so this is really the finale. Thanks again to everyone who read, liked, and followed this story. I appreciate it so much that you took time out of your day to read my story. The next story I'm leaning towards writing is The Summer Affair, which is in my profile, though I'm not sure yet. You can always leave me a suggestion or message me which story you would rather see me write next out of the two. In the meantime, I'm just going to take a small writing break for a few days while I think it over. Anyways, leave a review to let me know what you think and as always Thanks for reading!


	28. Bonus Chapter: After The Masquerade

Bonus/Extra: After the Masquerade

"Are you almost done Professor Stein? It seems like you've been writing quite a bit down for only a routine checkup." Maka asked hesitantly, sitting up off the clinic bed.

Stein continued scribbling a few more notes down on his chart before glancing up at her with a smile. "Sorry about that; your labs and blood results all came back as normal. You're perfectly fit for a woman your age."

Maka breathed a sigh of relief at the news, pausing in hopping off the bed when another thought occurred to her. "Um, are the other results okay?"

Stein arched an eyebrow at the question, grinning in slight amusement when Maka began to squirm uncomfortably when he wouldn't immediately give her an answer.

'Come on Professor, you know exactly what I'm talking about. You just want me to be the one to say it, don't you?' Maka chastised him internally.

Stein swirled in his seat for a moment, laughing lightly when Maka eventually started to send him a scowl. "By other results, you don't mean how the baby is doing, do you?"

Maka bit her lip, meekly nodding her head as she felt her cheeks redden. It still wasn't easy to admit that she was pregnant, even if she was almost at the end of month two now.

Stein shifted through his papers and notes once more before sending her a nod of approval. "The baby is doing fine. My only suggestions are that you increase your intake of folic acid and continue to take your prenatal vitamins daily."

Maka simply nodded her head, accepting another one of the educational pamphlets Stein was required to give her for each daily checkup. 'I guess I really need to start taking his advice seriously now.'

"Oh, I have one more thing to say before you go Maka." Stein called out to her, just as she was getting ready to leave out the door.

Maka glanced back over at him and frowned when she saw the serious expression upon his face. "I also advise that you stop taking missions or at least slow down on them in the next coming months. You mentioned that you were beginning to get morning sickness and nausea throughout the day. That can impact your health and the baby's if you're not careful enough."

Maka nearly clicked her tongue in annoyance, the last thing she wanted to do right now was abruptly halt all the progress she had gotten in the recent cases Kid had given her.

"Not to go against your warning Professor Stein, but I think I'll be okay. If I can handle black blood and the poison Travis drugged with years ago, I think I can handle a few simple missions just fine." Maka mused.

Stein shook his head, not sure why Maka was being stubborn. 'She could still be in shock that she's actually pregnant and not just experiencing a case of the stomach flu. Or perhaps she's simply nervous about being a mother.'

"Maka, this isn't about only you anymore though, it's about you and your child. Knowing the abilities your child may inherit from you and possibly even Soul makes you a target for new enemies." Stein explained.

"I've been a target for people for many years now! It's not like that's something I'm not already used to by now." Maka replied back, slipping back on her black jacket.

Stein only sighed, following Maka back out of the clinic into the halls of the DWMA once more. It had already gotten late, the last peaks of the sun lighting the sky before the day headed into night.

"Anyways, my main point is that you should take it easy. I know you're already stressed by the fact you're still keeping this pregnancy a secret from Soul. I don't get why you are though; I thought you were done keeping secrets from him after that whole Masquerade fiasco way back when." Stein explained, grinning when Maka huffed and started to walk away.

'I hate to admit it, but he's right; I'm not trying to keep it a secret on purpose though. I just don't believe it would be right to tell Soul the news over phone, especially when he's busy with that death scythe mission he's been away on for the past month. I'm not going to distract him from his work by telling him this.' Maka asserted to herself, heading back home as fast as she could before she accidently bumped into someone.

"Are you in that much of a hurry to head home Maka?" Kid asked jokingly, helping Maka up off the floor.

Maka laughed, shaking her head as she brushed away some dust that had fallen onto her shirt. "Not really actually, I only a few minutes ago got out of my appointment with Stein and I wanted to head home to get something to eat while finish up on some paperwork."

Kid slowly nodded his head, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "There's no need for you to rush on getting all those reports done because I agree with what Stein told you."

Maka only blinked in confusion, waiting for Kid to continue on.

"I know it was wrong of me to eavesdrop on your discussion, but he's right Maka. You're pregnant now and I believe not as your supervisor, but as your friend that you don't need the added stress of cases in your life right now. You're already working so hard right now; taking on missions while still studying for certification exam. I want you to take it easy from now on." Kid explained.

Maka began to sulk a bit, searching Kid's golden eyes for any signs that he would change his mind and sighed when his stance remained the same. 'So they want me to simply sit at home for most the day? I can only read and study so much before even that gets tiring…but their right. I don't want to cause unnecessary harm to the baby before he or she is even born.'

"There's no reason to be so gloomy Maka. In fact, I have some positive news to share with you that should make you feel less stressed in the coming days." Kid announced happily.

Maka's eyes lit up in excitement, leaning in to hear what he had to say. Kid smiled even more at Maka's quick change in mood before clearing his throat.

"Well, he did want me to keep it a surprise from you, but Soul called yesterday to inform me he would be coming home from his mission earlier than expected to catch you off guard for your 25th birthday! He said he would be home at the latest by tomorrow night! I think a good way to celebrate would be to invite everyone to the manor this weekend; what do you think?

Maka felt a familiar wave of nausea hit her as she took in Kid's words slowly. "Um, could you repeat all that?"

~X~

'Soul is going to be here by tomorrow night…how am I going to explain the pregnancy to him when I haven't even come up with a game plan to tell him yet?!' Maka thought woozily, trudging home much more sluggishly now at the revelation.

The scent of fish permeated the air as she soon as she opened the apartment door. Maka immediately resisted the urge to cover her nose as Blair giddily ran up to her.

"Maka, you're back to so late! I was beginning to worry you got too caught up in your studies again or a fight that you lost track of time!" Blair cried out, looking over Maka to make sure she wasn't injured.

Maka smiled at Blair's concern over her and headed into her room to take off her jacket and shoes. "I'm alright Blair; Professor's Stein appointment just went on longer than I expected it would."

Blair huffed in agreement from outside her door, following her as she went back over to the kitchen. "I'll say! Are you sure he even knows what he's talking about? You've been throwing up for the past two or three weeks now and you hardly ever get sick!"

'Oh, I still haven't told Blair or really anyone that I'm pregnant. It's not like they probably won't instantly piece it together eventually though. A baby is going to mean so many changes…will I even be a good mother? How is Soul going to react? Knowing how Blair likes to behave, how would I explain that to our child as they get older? Oh, the cat that lives with us sometimes can make herself appear human and likes to walk around naked occasionally; it's nothing for you to worry about. ' Maka mused sardonically, gaining a mild headache at the rush of thoughts.

A part of her still didn't understand why she desired to keep the pregnancy a secret so badly. It felt wrong that Soul hadn't been the first person to know, so the least she could do was continue to hide it until he came back. As far as friends and her Papa, they would need to remain in the dark for now as well.

"This apartment was already small before Blair had moved in. Is there even any space to put a baby's crib or will we need to move?" Maka continued muttering to herself, before Blair swiftly plopped a bowl of soup in front of her.

Maka stared briefly at the soup, a blackened fish head sticking straight out of the bowl in between the mix of noodles and broth. "You were making dinner for me this whole time?"

Blair nodded her head, taking a seat next to her. "Of course silly! Now hurry up and eat it before it gets cold!"

Maka warily picked up her spoon and blew away the steam, revulsion at the smell making her stomach knot uncomfortably. Still, Blair had taken time out of her day to prepare this meal for her and she managed to politely take few sips and even a bite from the fish before her lunch came back to greet her: all over the table.

"I'm sorry Blair, I...I didn't mean to throw up all the hard work you spent preparing that for me." Maka mumbled in embarrassment a few minutes later, now hunched over a toilet and pausing to catch her breath.

Blair quietly pulled her hair away from face, grabbing a nearby washcloth to wipe away the sweat from her forehead. "Maka, quit apologizing! I guess I forgot how much you detest fish; it's my fault really! I'm beginning to think though this isn't just some stomach flu…"

Maka froze at her words, hands nearly slipping off the rim of the toilet. 'She knows?'

Green eyes met gold as the two sat in silence, Blair eventually reaching over to ruffle her ash blonde hair. "Don't push yourself so hard, okay? You'll be fine alone since I have to get ready for work now though, right?"

Maka appeared dazed for a moment, before standing up alongside her with a nod. "I'm an adult now Blair, so obviously!"

Blair laughed at Maka's immature response, helping her finish cleaning up the table and dishes. "Yeah, you and Soul are adults now. It's nice being able to fulfill all those teenage lust and desires you two secretly had for each other, isn't it?"

Maka paused in her scrubbing of a plate, cheeks growing hot under Blair's amused grin. "Err, I guess?" How else was she supposed to answer that question?

'Blair must definitely know from asking me that question, but why didn't she call me out on it?' Maka pondered, casually flipping through channels to distract her mind once Blair left. Perhaps she should just turn in early for the night.

Meanwhile Blair's ears drooped as she gave one last look outside the apartment, loitering around the hallway in advance of heading to ChupaCabra's.

"Why won't she tell me she's pregnant? Maybe it really is supposed to be a surprise until Soul gets here." Blair grumbled aloud, smirking as another idea came to her. 'Guess that means I can prolong teasing her and Soul now at least.'

~X~

"Hiro, I don't think that's a good idea, I'm too busy to all of a sudden have a band reunion, which was really only the two of us." Maka huffed out, glancing back over her shopping list to ignore him. With Kid letting her take a leave from work and Soul coming back more than likely tonight, it meant she really needed to get the grocery shopping done, but she didn't expect to be running into old classmates in the process.

"Well, to be honest it was Rachel's suggestion, but come on Maka! Don't you remember how much fun it was being in Masquerade, sans the part involving Travis? Or are you embarrassed because you don't play the saxophone as good as you used to?" Hiro questioned with a smirk.

'He's right on the fact I haven't played much of anything since we disbanded all those years ago. The only times I've performed in the past few months were at home with Soul and for some kids at that children's fair…' Maka reminisced, frowning at the realization she had lost much of her knowledge of music in favor of other goals.

"If he's bugging you Maka, then I can get rid of him." Black Star abruptly uttered over her shoulder, cracking his knuckles for emphasis.

Hiro backed away at Black Star's menacing glare, stepping backwards to head out of the market. "Ah, let me know if you change your mind Maka!"

Maka sighed and rolled her eyes as she watched him leave before turning to face Black Star. "Why did you do that? I was perfectly capable of getting him to go away on my own."

Black Star only snorted, pushing his shopping cart ahead of her. "Well, you two were blocking the aisle! Some of us need to get our shopping done instead of idle chit chat."

Maka gained a puzzled look and gazed down at Black Star's cart, noticing it was completely void of any items. "Why are you even the one out shopping?"

"Oh, Angela came down with some cold and Tsubaki's taking care of her to make sure it doesn't get any worse. Hey, do you know where they sell the cough medicine?" Black Star questioned, glancing around the aisle.

Maka couldn't help but smile slightly at how lost he was, pointing a finger towards the back. "It's in the pharmacy section."

Black Star grinned as a sign of thanks and was about to rush off until he saw how full Maka's cart was. "Whoa, who are you buying groceries for? You and Blair don't eat that much, unless you're hiding something…"

"Soul's coming back home soon idiot. I needed to make sure there's enough food for everybody." Maka answered back casually.

Black Star arched an eyebrow as he gazed over the array of items in her cart, all the while Maka watching him carefully in case he wanted to do a further inspection. 'It's a good thing I haven't picked up the prenatal vitamins yet. I don't know how I would explain that to him.'

"Hmm, well it doesn't seem like you've got anything out of the ordinary in here. I figured you would be buying something special for Soul's homecoming." Black Star implied, a coy grin forming on his face.

Maka chose to avert her gaze, groaning softly when Black Star started to laugh at her flushed cheeks. She had been prudish about matters relating to love and sex for the majority of her teen years, but all that had gradually changed with the time she spent with Soul.

"Anyways, there are still some other errands I need to do so I'll be seeing you around." Maka huffed out, not wanting to give him the opportunity to tease her anymore.

"Heh, if you say so. Maybe you and Soul should take some tips from Tsubaki and me if you ever want your relationship to be interesting!" Black Star stated in sing-song voice, whistling as he walked off in the opposite direction.

'Why does everyone think Soul and I never do anything?' Maka asked herself bitterly, blushing when an impish thought popped into her head. 'Well, you certainly proved them wrong now though, haven't you? The last of the group to be married, yet the first to be pregnant.'

About 30 minutes later, Maka was back at the apartment putting away groceries when her phone buzzed beside her. Maka took a quick glance at the caller ID and gained a mix of apprehension and excitement: It was Soul.

~X~

'It's just Soul; nothing for me to freak out over.' Maka told herself, setting down the bread by the toaster before hitting the accept button. "Hello."

"I'm surprised you're even picking up your phone. Usually you keep your phone on silent while you're at work." Soul answered teasingly.

Maka laughed gently at that, shifting her phone to her shoulder as she finished putting away the milk and eggs into the fridge. "Kid told me to take off work so I'm actually at home."

"Huh, are you still feeling sick from last week? This might be worse than what you think it is." Soul questioned, gaining a concerned tone.

Maka shook her head, the guilt of her lie weighing on her again. "No, No I'm fine! There's nothing for you to worry about Soul."

There was a pause for a moment on the other end of the line and Maka almost assumed they had had a sudden disconnection until he spoke up again. "Since you're at the apartment, let's FaceTime."

Maka arched an eyebrow at the suggestion, but agreed to it. Soul grinned over Maka's lazy disposition, as soon as she had gotten back home she had changed into some pajamas pants and a plain green t-shirt.

"So, what things have been going on since we last talked, even though we talk every Friday pretty much?" Soul inquired, leaning back in his chair.

"Hmm, well I went grocery shopping today and ran into Black Star and Hiro. Can you believe Hiro wanted us to have a Masquerade reunion?" Maka asked with a giggle.

Soul narrowed his eyes at the thought. "Are you two having a midlife crisis to be bringing that back up?"

Maka scoffed, wishing she could hit Soul for that comment. "I wasn't the one who brought it up! Besides, you make it seem like we're old."

Soul simply shrugged, putting a hand against a palm. "So, are you taking him seriously then? Do you want to make Masquerade a thing again?"

"I wouldn't mind to be honest playing my sax again for a one night only special or something on the condition that I could have a certain teacher help me relearn some parts." Maka brought up playfully.

Soul promptly caught on to her meaning, gaining a whole new wicked grin. "That can be arranged."

'It's silly banter like this that led from one to thing to another.' Maka mused, twirling a finger through her hair at the memory.

Flashback

"Soul, why are you still here?" Maka asked, barely gazing up at him from her textbooks and practice questions.

Soul unhurriedly finished taking a bite from his apple, tossing the core into the trash bin nearby. "I came to bring you your lunch and eat with you like I always do when I'm here in the city."

"I know that, but we ate lunch over an hour ago and you're still here. Are you trying to avoid some death scythe meeting again by hiding in here?" Maka retorted back.

Soul shook his head, standing up and walking around to her desk to see what she was doing. "Still studying for that certification exam to be a forensics and criminal investigator? You'll be fine; you do well on every test you take."

"This is different from any exam I've ever taken. It will make that super exam Stein gave us years back seem like nothing." Maka muttered, continuing to go through a drill of practice questions until Soul reached over her and slammed her books shut.

"You just want me to hit you, don't you?" Maka asked with a growl, looking up to meet his crimson eyes.

"As long as it means I have your attention. You've been studying since this morning and it's already past 1 pm now. I think you can handle being away from your notes and other crap for a bit." Soul answered back cheekily.

Maka swirled in her chair to fully face him, stretching her arms out with a yawn. "What do you want to do then?"

Soul slowly peered over Maka's business attire, a simple blue button top and gray pencil skirt before smirking. "Hmm, what don't I want to do?"

Maka felt herself redden at his staring and innuendo. "Idiot, that wasn't even a proper answer."

"I'm being serious; we hardly get to spend any time alone together before one of us gets called away for something." Soul remarked, pulling her into his arms gently.

"You smell good, been trying on some new perfume or something to impress me?" Soul asked jokingly, pressing kisses along her neck.

Maka shook her head, giggling at his touch. "You know I haven't and besides, I probably smell like paper ink and sweat more than anything else."

"Guess you know how to make those two things sexy then." Soul mused back as Maka's giggling turned into laughter at his flirting.

Maka sighed contently, brushing a hand through the back of his hair as the warmth of his lips eventually met hers. Soul began to actively fiddle with the buttons of her top when Maka pulled back with a pant.

"Wait a second Soul." Maka whispered, breaking away from him to close her window. Soul watched her hurriedly close the blinds as he checked the walls.

"Kid didn't install any cameras in here, did he?" Soul questioned.

"No, they're only in the hallways as far as I know." Maka muttered, just as Soul hoisted her back up and pressed her against her desk.

"Good, if not an 'accident' might have caused those cameras to disappear." Soul chuckled, pushing her books aside.

"Hold on, one more thing." Maka said softly. Soul grunted in response, but Maka simply held up a key to silence him.

"Lock my door first."

Flashback End

"What are you thinking about?" Soul asked, startling her from her thoughts.

Maka blinked dazedly, blushing as she realized where her thoughts had gone. "About the time you were in my office for lunch around a month ago." 'It was only when we came back home that I realized I had forgotten to pick up my new pack of birth control…'

Soul scrunched his face up in thought, smirking as he recalled the memory. "Oh yeah, we can always do that again if you want. You know I should be home in time for your birthday this weekend, right? You're going to be surprised I bet."

'Yeah, I have a surprise for you too.' Maka thought, before nodding her head. "Guess I'll see you soon then. I need to charge my phone again before the battery dies."

Soul nodded his head in agreement, waving goodbye as he ended the call with a smile. 'She'll be seeing me sooner than she thinks. I'm already on my way to the airport now.'

~X~

Maka carefully blew the dust off a sealed package from the back of her closet. All of her Masquerade memorabilia had been stuffed away into a box except for her saxophone.

'This really takes me back. I wonder what I put in here.' Maka mused, tearing off the tape and peering inside. The first thing she found was her trademark verdant mask, still aligned with the jewels along the edges. Maka briefly fingered the feathered rims of the mask before picking up a stuffed envelope.

"I didn't realize we had this many fans. Hiro might have actually had a point, but then again; we didn't have much rival bands or competition when we did all this." Maka murmured to herself, pulling out leftover signed autographs of the two along with old cd's of their songs from the envelope.

'I can tell I'm giving such a fake smile in this picture. No matter how happy I was learning how to play, I was still always choosing to lie.' Maka determined at one particular photo of the two smiling after a performance, placing everything back into the box slowly.

"Walking down memory lane, huh?" Soul asked by her ear, causing her let out a small eep and inadvertently strike at his nose.

"Geez, you really were lost in thought, weren't you?" Soul grumbled, rubbing his now sore nose.

Maka rolled her eyes with a smile, standing up to greet him. "That's what you get for coming up behind me; you startled me! When did you get home anyways?"

Soul pointed over to his luggage still outside in the hallway. "I just came in a few minutes ago. You weren't responded to me calling you so I wanted to check on what you were doing. You don't even seem all that shocked that I here."

"Kid ruined the surprise by telling me about it." Maka explained, laughing at the scowl that came on to Soul's face. "Don't be mad at him though, I'm happy you're back so early."

Soul nodded his head, walking back out in the living room with Maka trailing behind him. Just as she had expected, Soul's flight had come in late with it already close to 10 pm now. Maka shifted to close the kitchen window as a cool breeze came in. The cloudy overcast obscured the moon, leaving the two in relative darkness until Soul turned on the living room lamp.

'Tonight is when I'm going to tell him. No more putting it off or waiting.' Maka resolved silently, watching as Soul flipped through a few channels before shutting off the TV and turning back towards her.

"As usual, there's nothing on. I'm sleepy anyways so I'm going to head in; you coming?" Soul asked, already getting off the couch.

Maka nodded her head, pushing back the growing lump forming in her chest as they headed to his room.

"I know I've only been gone a few weeks, but it feels like it's been forever since I've been in a bed this comfortable." Soul stated cheerfully.

Maka beamed back quietly, observing as he tossed and turned for a bit under the covers before lazily wrapping an arm around her as he stilled.

'Oh crap, I waited too long and now he might have fallen asleep already!' Maka thought in alarm, pocking his arm gently to wake him back him up.

"Soul, are you already asleep?" Maka questioned in a hushed tone, hoping he would speak up but only got the sound of Soul's even breathing as a response.

"Damn it, this was important and I ruined my chances again of telling you!" Maka whispered angrily, Soul's sleeping face remaining unchanged.

'He's had a long day though. I guess I'll have to wait until morning to tell him.' Maka decided, curling into his warmth.

"When he wakes up, it will be the first thing I-"Maka paused her muttering when she heard Soul let out an aggravated sigh.

"Okay, what is so damn important that you've been grumbling to yourself for the past couple of minutes? Is it really that crucial?" Soul asked grouchily, opening one eye sleepily.

Maka huffed at his attitude, but didn't back down as her voice softened. "I'm…I'm about 2 months pregnant Soul."

If the topic wasn't so serious, Maka would have snickered at the site of Soul nearly falling off the bed in stunned surprise, eyes now wide and alert.

"What?! You're….you're not joking with me, right?" Soul questioned, pushing back the covers and turning on a nearby light to see her properly.

Maka shook her head, fiddling the sheets nervously. "No, why would I even joke about something like this? I know I should have told you sooner, but I didn't know how to tell you and I knew you were busy with your own assignments…" Soul cut off her rambling by reaching out to squeeze her hand.

"Shit Maka, none of my work matters if this is what's been really going on with you! And I'm an idiot for not even seeing the signs…" Soul hissed out, berating himself angrily.

"You're not an idiot Soul; I was the one keeping it hidden after all. I'm sorry I didn't tell you when I first found out; I was still in shock of it all and then I realized I had forgotten about my birth control which started this whole situation. I didn't want to stress you out by adding this to your workload." Maka explained hastily.

Soul scooted over to brush away the stray tears falling from her eyes. "I'm not mad about it; I mean if you had told me earlier, I could have been home even sooner. "

Maka softly groaned at her foolish decisions, leaning against Soul's shoulder for comfort as the two sat in silence.

"Who else knows?" Soul eventually asked.

Maka moved her head off his shoulder and smiled sheepishly. "Only Stein and Kid, I swear. I mean Blair probably suspects me, but she hasn't prodded me for questions yet."

Soul leaned his head against his palm, eyes moving towards Maka's still relatively flat stomach. 'So, our child is really growing in there?'

"This is some surprise you had for me. I can only imagine your old man will want to castrate me when he finds out." Soul chuckled lightly, rubbing her stomach absentmindedly.

Maka blushed at his behavior, feeling a little less tense at his words. "Soul, what exactly are you trying to accomplish by touching my stomach?"

Soul immediately halted his motion, meeting her curious eyes. "Err; I was just trying to see if I could feel the baby."

Maka stared at him blankly for a moment, biting her lip to hide her smile until she eventually broke into a fit of giggles when she could no longer contain it. "I'm still too early in my pregnancy for you to really feel anything!"

"…You could've told me that instead of letting me look like an idiot." Soul muttered in embarrassment, about to turn over in the bed when Maka reached for his hand once more.

"I'm so relieved." Maka said softly, pressing the warmth of his palm against her cheek. "I figured you would be freaking out more over this."

"Who says I'm not?" Soul responded back, pressing her hand towards his rapidly beating heart. Maka sighed, turning the lamp light back off.

"You don't have to face this alone Maka; we'll handle this together." Soul continued on.

Maka nodded her head, snuggling in closer towards him once more. "I've settled it now; tomorrow morning is when I'll start again."

"Start what?" Soul inquired, unsure if this had to do with the pregnancy or something else entirely.

Maka smiled against his chest, looking back up to meet his eyes. "I'm going to relearn the steps to playing my saxophone once more; it will make for the perfect way to de-stress."

~X~

"I think we should be getting ready for that party." Soul mused, listening as Maka played a few more notes off key.

"I feel like I should be better than this. What's wrong with me?" Maka huffed, setting her sax against the couch tiredly.

Soul handed her a glass of water which she accepted with a smile. "You aren't going to be great because you're rusty at playing. Hiro never said he immediately wanted you guys to perform again, so there's nothing wrong with you taking it slow, right?"

"Yeah, I suppose. It seemed like it came so easy to me before though." Maka grumbled, cleaning off the keys and reed of the sax.

Soul smirked as Maka flipped through the pages of her old music notes once more. "Things are going to be different now that I'll be the one re-teaching you. It's going to take longer than just a few months to master everything, especially when you have other stuff to do."

Maka waved him off as she placed her sax back into her case and gathered all her sheets together. "Whatever you say, Mr. Evans; now come help me pick out a dress."

"We could always stay here if you want." Soul offered over her shoulder, causing her to lightly elbow him.

"I highly doubt Kid would appreciate the main people he's throwing this party for didn't show up." Maka said with a smirk, causing Soul to snicker before he headed off for his own room.

Maka hummed peacefully as the two strolled to Kid's manor an hour later. Even though she had mildly been against the idea of having a party for her 25th birthday, Kid had continued to insist it would be a great way for everyone to meet up again which she had to admit, was true. 'The timing is even perfect since Soul is here now too.'

"I was thinking, maybe we should ask Stein and Marie for advice." Soul stated, breaking the silence between them.

Maka turned to send him an odd look, not sure what he was talking about. "Why do we need to go to them for advice?"

"For the pregnancy of course! They're the only stable people we know who have gone through a pregnancy and had a kid." Soul answered back.

"I don't know if we should qualify Professor Stein as 'stable' and did you forget my Papa has me?" Maka questioned with a snort.

Soul rolled his eyes as they both began to laugh. "I said stable, you're dad isn't stable. Besides, you hardly ever even talk to him."

'But at least I'm sure he could give me some advice. After all, I'm sure he'll want to be a part of the child's life…perhaps Marie is the only person I can ask for motherly advice though.' Maka considered, beginning to frown.

Soul picked up on her change in mood and ruffled her hair gently. "Hey, don't start getting all mopey before we even get to the party."

Maka shook her head, pushing the negative thoughts away. "You know, the only thing I'm concerned about is that somebody might try to give me alcohol; namely Black Star or Liz."

Soul nodded his head, the two now approaching the entrance of the manor. "We'll both need to be on the lookout then."

Maka grinned as all her friends stood up to greet them as they entered the main hall. "Happy Birthday Maka and welcome home Soul!"

"You guys seriously didn't need to throw all this together." Maka mentioned, beaming as their friends threw confetti at them.

"Stop complaining and just enjoy yourself! Some of us haven't seen each other in person in a long time, especially you two!" Black Star yelled out from the crowd.

"Come on Maka, I'm sure there's plenty of stuff we need to catch up on!" Liz said from her side, dragging her off to where the rest of the girls were.

Maka refrained from pouting as Liz shoved a glass of wine into her hands. "Liz, I'm not in the mood for drinking."

"Oh Maka, there's no need to be so modest for your own party! I'm sure Soul wouldn't mind any new lively behavior that came from it." Liz countered suggestively.

'Actually, I'm sure he would.' Maka speculated, discreetly pouring her drink into a plant behind them when Liz turned around to stop Patty from jumping onto the furniture.

"Any reason why decided to pour that wine into the plant?" Tsubaki asked from beside her, raising an eyebrow at the action.

Maka flinched for a moment at being caught, relaxing when Tsubaki began to send her a smug smile. "I think you have an idea of why."

Tsubaki nodded her head, smile growing even wider as she did a sweeping glance around the room. "Are you and Soul going to make an announcement or wait a bit longer?"

Maka shrugged, not even sure where Soul was as at the moment. "I'm going to go find him and ask him."

Maka blinked in confusion when she finally came upon Soul talking to Hiro unusually. 'How many people did Kid invite to this? Everyone we knew back in the EAT class?'

"Listen, I don't want you bothering Maka about anything Masquerade related for at least the next couple of months or so. She may want to do a reunion show, but she's not at the same level she was at years ago. Plus, she's going to be distracted with other things." Soul explained seriously.

Hiro slinked back warily, noticing Maka was watching the scene from behind them. "If that's what you two want, its fine. I'm sure I need to work on my own skills too, if you want; you could even play with us."

"Yeah Soul, become our third member." Maka said jokingly from behind them. Soul scrunched his face in annoyance as he turned to face her while Hiro sauntering off back into the crowds.

"I think I'll stick to being your teacher." Soul grumbled, pausing in speaking again when he noticed Spirit giving him the stink eye from across the room.

Maka followed his gaze and sighed. "I don't understand his behavior sometimes; he still likes to treat me like a child."

"You two don't need to be so clingy to each other. There are other people you can mingle with here." Spirit argued, walking up to them.

"Maka hasn't been feeling that well, so I'm just making sure she's okay." Soul replied back easily, ignoring the irritated look Spirit sent him while he gained a worried expression over Maka.

"Why did you let Maka come here if she wasn't feeling well? Do you need me to find someplace for you to lie down?!" Spirit asked her in concern.

Maka shook her head, gaining a mischievous look that didn't go unnoticed by Soul. "I'm fine Papa; I'm just pregnant is all."

The color slowly drained from Spirit's face as he took in her words and realized what she had said. "I-Is that true or are you messing with me for fun?"

Soul simply nodded his head, half of him enjoying taunting Spirit while the other half worried if he was going to be okay with how pale his face had gotten. "Maka is at about the end of month two, but you can't really see it yet."

Spirit gazed between the two of them silently; waiting for one of them to announce it was a joke and brushed a hand through his hair shakily when he realized they were being serious.

"I-I think I need to lie down."

~X~

Maka groaned quietly under her breathe, applying a new washcloth to her father's head as they sat in one of Kid's many guestrooms. "I wasn't expecting him to faint."

"Well, he could have either thrown up or attacked me. I think this was the best outcome really." Soul mentioned, earning him a punch to the shoulder.

"But is it really true though, you two are going to be parents?! Ah, I can't believe my own students are going to be starting their own family; now I really feel old!" Marie asked excitedly from across the room.

Soul and Maka blushed a bit at her enthusiasm; Spirit's reaction had caused the whole party to come to an abrupt halt, with everyone questioning why the man had suddenly fallen to the ground in shock until they revealed the truth.

"Black Star said he is going to be the Godparent as we brought him up here." Soul pointed out, helping Maka gather some ice from the nearby bucket.

"He can't just declare himself that, but that sounds like something he would say." Maka laughed. 'This wasn't exactly how I wanted everyone to find out. I wonder what everyone thinks of us being soon to be parents.'

"If you two need any help, feel free to come to us for advice! I bet you two don't even know how to change a diaper." Marie exclaimed.

Spirit sluggishly began to sit up as the commotion in the room got louder. "Ugh, what happened?"

"You passed out after Maka informed you she is pregnant." Stein explained with an amused grin.

Spirit groaned as the memory came back to him, casting a glare at Soul until Maka began to glare at him. "Sorry, I kind of startled you like that, but Papa will be here to help you in any way he can!"

"Yes, we're sure you'll be a good grandpa." Soul brought up; smirking at the dirty look Spirit sent him once more for making him feel old.

Maka relaxed back into her chair as their friends slowly littered into the room to congratulate them and ask them mix of questions on when exactly she knew she was pregnant and where they did it.

'Thank goodness our friends will be here to help us throughout the pregnancy, even if they all are a bit perverted…'

~X~

Months later, a whine followed by a cry pierced the air, waking both Soul and Maka from their sleep.

Maka's eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness, noticing Soul was already shifting out of bed. "It's okay Soul; I can get him since you already got him the last time."

Soul was about to shake his head sleepily in disagreement, but Maka casted him a stern look that she wouldn't take no for an answer.

'I wonder what's bothering him this time…We just fed him and changed him.' Maka thought nervously, heading towards Christopher's crib and found he was already sitting up waiting on one of them.

Scarlet eyes lit up as Maka approached him and reached out to lift him out the bed.

"Chris, what's bugging you this time? Can't get back to sleep?" Maka questioned, calling him by his nickname as she smoothed out his disheveled blonde hair.

Chris let out a babble of noises, leaning into her chest while Maka pressed a hand against his cheeks. 'He does feel a bit warm; perhaps this is a teething fever?'

"Chris, open your mouth for a moment. I want to check something." Maka asked gently, seeing that indeed his front teeth were coming in; tiny bulges at the top of his gums.

Maka smiled slightly, rubbing Chris's back gently as he began to fuss again. "I wonder if you're going to have sharp teeth too. Anyways, we'll fix this with some cold washcloths you can chew and suck on!"

A soft melody came through the air as Maka carried him to the bathroom. Recognizing it was Soul's classic tune.

Christopher turned curiously towards the noise as well, chubby hands reaching out towards Soul when they approached the room.

Soul grinned at Chris's calmer behavior, pausing in his playing to allow him to smash his fingers against the piano keys wildly to release his excess energy.

"Sounds like you if you attempted to play." Soul mused, scooting over to allow Maka to sit.

"Yes, because I'm sure you could play the saxophone like a pro." Maka scoffed.

Christopher eventually settled down, leaning back into Maka as he blinked drowsily. "Masquerade will be having its reunion performance this weekend now that I think about it."

Soul frowned, closing the piano case slowly to avoid startling Chris. "Are you sure you're ready? I mean you and I haven't been getting much sleep with Chris's fussiness."

Maka nodded her head, emerald eyes sparkling with amusement. "Yes, I did learn from one of the best after all."

Soul still wanted to voice his disagreement, but Maka continued on. "Soul, 10 years ago when we were teenagers, I wanted to learn about music so much so that I could understand and love it the way you do. 10 years later, I lost some of the knowledge I had, but I haven't lost the love I gained for it. I still want to play at least a few songs; it would make all the training you did with me over these months go to waste if I didn't try."

"If that's what you want, I'll be in the audience. I never thought music would become something so important to you." Soul stated.

"It's not just the music, but you, Chris, and all our friends and family. You've all played a big impact in my life that I don't feel bad about my weaknesses anymore or jealous of others." Maka explained softly.

Soul leaned over to gently kiss her forehead. "Don't think I'll let you immediately head back into work though. Kid said he had no problems with you taking maternity leave and your exam is still not until the end of next month."

Maka nodded in agreement, laziness having taken her with the ups and downs of adjusting to motherhood along with the sleepless nights. "That's fine; I don't think I could come back in when I don't feel at 100% yet."

"Yeah and I'll be here too regaining back my own energy." Soul continued on.

Maka narrowed her eyes amusingly, gently holding Chris as she stood back up. "I don't recall Kid saying you get a maternity leave too in case you have forgotten."

Soul shook his head, following her to the bathroom with a grin. "Don't worry about that minor detail; I can always create an excuse to spend time you and Chris."

"In other words, you're going to make up some crappy story again, right?" Maka mused while Soul chuckled.

"It will sound better than the way you put it, but thinking about it aloud makes me sound like a bad influence." Soul considered.

Maka simply shrugged, smiling as they both gazed down at their son. "I guess I am too since I wouldn't prefer it any other way."

~x~

Thanks once again for reading!


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